SC to hear Pinarayi Vijayan, Veena’s pleas in CMRL-Exalogic case on October 21
New Delhi: The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Wednesday, October 21, petitions filed by former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter T. Veena, son-in-law and former minister P.A. Mohammed Riyas, and others challenging a Kerala High Court order directing the registration of a vigilance FIR in the CMRL-Exalogic alleged pay-off case.
According to the cause list published on the Supreme Court’s official website, a Bench of Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana will hear the matter at 10.30 am.
Vijayan’s petition, registered as a Special Leave Petition (Criminal), challenges proceedings initiated by the Kerala High Court following a plea filed by advocate K.M. Shajahan. Connected petitions have been filed by Veena, Riyas and others.
The petitions follow a Kerala High Court Division Bench’s decision to deny interim relief to Vijayan and the other appellants against a single judge’s October 9 order directing the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) to register an FIR, including offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Following the order, Vigilance Director Manoj Abraham directed the formation of a probe team, with Deputy Inspector General of Police Thomson Jose supervising the investigation.
The Division Bench, comprising Justices K. Natarajan and Johnson John, had reserved its verdict on whether Vijayan, Veena, Riyas and the other appellants who were not parties to the original writ petition — could challenge the single judge’s order. However, it declined to stay the order.
The single judge had also quashed the state government’s decision to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to conduct a preliminary inquiry into information provided by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
What is the CMRL-Exalogic case?
The case concerns alleged payments made by Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) to Exalogic Solutions Pvt Ltd, a company founded by Veena, during the first Pinarayi Vijayan government.
The ED alleged that Exalogic received Rs 3.28 crore from CMRL for services that were not provided. It claimed the payments were made due to political influence and amounted to a bribe to Vijayan.
Vijayan is the first accused in the case, while Veena is the second accused. Seven people, including CMRL owner Sasidharan Kartha, have been named as accused.
IANS