A Kerala court on Friday sentenced both accused in the solar scam – Saritha Nair and Biju Radhakrishnan – to three years in jail. The Perumbavoor Magistrate Court also fined them Rs 10,000 each, in what was the first verdict in the 2013 case. The ruling was made on the complaint of one Sajad, who had accused the duo of duping him of Rs 40 lakh after promising him a solar plant, according to local daily Manorama.

Nair and her partner Radhakrishnan were arrested in 2013 for duping investors of lakhs of rupees after promising to install solar panels for them or offering them shares in large solar farms. After receiving the money, they would disappear. Former Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy and other Congress ministers were also accused of taking large amounts of money and sexual favours as part of the scam.

She had filed a petition seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry into Chandy’s alleged involvement in the case, but the Kerala High Court had dismissed her plea. In his defence, Chandy had claimed that the liquor lobby had started this conspiracy against him after the state decided to close down bars in Kerala. The scam became an important matter ahead of the state Assembly polls in May, which Chandy lost.