Kochi: The Kerala High Court has two legal options to consider as it re-examines whether an FIR should be registered against former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and others in the CMRL-Exalogic financial transaction case, based on a report submitted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). 

The court can direct the single bench to reconsider the matter after hearing Pinarayi Vijayan and the other persons named in the case. Alternatively, it can decide to examine the matter in detail before taking a decision.

Pinarayi Vijayan and the other appellants have argued that the single bench erred in directing the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau to register an FIR and investigate the allegations without hearing them. They have sought the cancellation of the single bench order.  

The appellants are expected to argue before the division bench that they should have been given an opportunity to present their side before the single bench decided to order an investigation. They want the matter to be reconsidered after hearing them.

One of the key legal questions is whether persons facing allegations must be heard before an FIR is ordered by a court.

When the police register an FIR on their own, they are not required to hear the accused beforehand. However, when a court directs the registration of an FIR, the persons against whom allegations have been raised must be given an opportunity to be heard.

The appellants can also contend that the Director General of Police had ordered a preliminary inquiry based on the ED report. They argue that the court could not issue a direction overriding that decision without hearing the persons concerned. 

Another argument is that the allegations do not identify any specific criminal offence that would warrant the registration of an FIR.

In such circumstances, an investigation following the registration of an FIR may not be mandatory. The Supreme Court had also pointed to this legal question when it considered the plea seeking permission to appeal.

The appeal by Pinarayi Vijayan and the others was considered by a Kerala High Court bench headed by Justice K. Natarajan.