"This verdict exonerating Pinarayi Vijayan from the charges is welcome. It is a vindication of the stand taken by the CPI(M) that these charges are baseless and it was a politically motivated case," the party Politburo said in a statement here.
The case related to the award of a contract to modernise three hydroelectric power projects in Kerala when Vijayan was the Power Minister in LDF ministry in 1998.
The special CBI judge in Thiruvananthapuram discharged Vijayan and five others, saying the charges against them were groundless as the prosecution had failed to establish fraudulent intention, abuse of power and element of cheating attributed against them.