Chief Minister Oommen Chandy would have the people believe that his government has done nothing out of the way to release former electricity minister and Kerala Congress (B) chief R Balakrishna Pillai from Pujappura jail on February 18 this year. The Supreme Court had sentenced Pillai to one-year rigorous imprisonment in the Edamalayar corruption case.

Facts, however, tell a different tale from the yarn the CM has tried to spin out. For instance, Mr Chandy says Pillai was only one of the 138 convicts who were released by the state government as a gesture of goodwill on the Kerala Formation day. The reality is different.

The Chief Minister says Pillai was given a two-month remission in his one-year jail term because of his good conduct and his ‘success’ in not attracting adverse remarks. Nothing is far from the truth. Pillai’s conduct was anything but good because in blatant violation of jail rules, he made indiscriminate use of his mobile phone from jail – a fact admitted by the Chief Minister himself on the floor of the state assembly. In fact, he attracted additional imprisonment of four days for using mobile phone inside jail. Also, he attracted adverse remarks whenever he came out on parole by addressing political meetings and making political statements.

Again, according to former home minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and other Left Democratic Front(LDF) leaders, Pillai should have spent at least eight months in jail, as per the rules, to avail of a two-month remission in his sentence. He has done nothing of the sort. Pillai has spent only 69 days in jail. He was shifted to a private hospital which provides five-star treatment facilities, again in violation of rules, where he spent 89 days. Since the room in which he was accommodated in the hospital was not officially notified as a jail room, the period he spent at the hospital cannot be treated as part of his jail term. Therefore, in effect, Pillai was released the day he was admitted to the hospital, ostensibly for treatment of multiple ailments on doctor’s advice.

In the meantime, a TV channel has come out with startling information, based on documents it managed to have access to, that Pillai’s health was not so bad as to necessitate five-star treatment at a posh private hospital.

The UDF government went out of the way to ensure Pillai’s release because it is not in a position to offend his son Ganesh Kumar, who is a minister in the Oommen Chandy ministry. Given the wafer-thin majority of the government, Chandy simply cannot rub Ganesh Kumar, or for that matter, any other ruling party MLA the wrong way.

Leader of the Opposition V S Achuthanandan has meanwhile filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging Pillai’s release from jail and demanding cancellation of the state government’s order. The petition is to come up for hearing later this week.

The VS petition has charged the state government with failure to do its constitutional responsibility to enforce the Supreme Court order. Since the Government’s action overturns the apex court verdict, it amounts to contempt of court, VS says.

Since Pillai was released in effect the day he was admitted to the private hospital on August 8, he cannot avail of the benefit of the state government order releasing other prisoners.

Moreover, Pillai was given parole for 89 days although the general parole allowed is only for 30 days and emergency parole for 15 more days.

The Chief Minister also came out with an astounding statement that Pillai was not sentenced for corruption! And the basis of his argument: the jail warrant received by the government! VS promptly countered the CM’s contention saying that the Supreme Court order clearly says that Pillai has been sentenced for corruption.

All eyes are now on the hearing in the Supreme Court, later this week. If the SC stays the state government’s order releasing Pillai, the latter may have to go back to jail, again.

And, mind you, the Chandy Government had, immediately after the assumption of power, come out with the statement that its top priority would be to root out corruption! (IPA Service)