The judicial commission inquiring into the solar scam proposes to examine the Kerala Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy, as a witness.

This comes in the background of the Chief Minister’s office having been dragged into the case last year leading to the exit of some of his personal staff.

Prime accused

The scam surfaced with the arrest of the main accused duo of Saritha Nair and Biju Radhakrishnan, who allegedly cheated several persons by offering them solar energy solutions.

The Justice G Sivarajan Commission is reported to have drawn up a list of 48 witnesses in all, including state ministers and their personal staff.

People’s representatives in the State Assembly and Parliament, who have either raised various allegations or have been accused of having links with the prime accused, also are in the list.

Names of then Home Minister and Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ernakulam, who recorded the statement of accused Saritha Nair, feature in the list, sources said.

Terms of reference

The commission would examine whether there was any slackness in handling complaints reported since 2005 in connection with the scam and related financial dealings.

The terms of reference mandate the probe to cover all allegations, including those against the Chief Minister’s office.

Any related issue could be raised before the commission with supporting documents, the Chief Minister had said, while announcing the institution of the probe.

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