NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has once again adjourned the hearing of the Lavalin case against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The bench comprising Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta and Ujjal Bhuyyan adjourned the hearing as senior CBI counsel was not present. Although the junior counsel requested for a passover, the court refused to passover the matter and instead adjourned the hearing. The case has been postponed thirty-six times already. In the past six years, the SNC Lavalin case has been heard by four benches.

The SNC Lavalin case pertains to a loss of Rs 374 crore in the Kerala State Electricity Board's (KSEB) contract with the Canadian-based SNC Lavalin for the renovation and modernisation of Pallivasal, Sengulam and Panniar hydroelectric projects in Idukki district in 1996 when Vijayan was the state power minister in the cabinet of E.K. Nayanar.

Following the High Court verdict exonerating CM Vijayan in the case, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in December 2017 approached the Supreme Court, contending that he should face trial in the case. On January 11, 2018, the Supreme Court had stayed the High Court order that three officials, including Kasturi Ranga Iyer, should face trial. From 27 August 2020, the case is under the consideration of the new bench of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has adjourned the hearing of the case several times at the request of the CBI.