Kerala High Court orders FIR against Pinarayi Vijayan in alleged CMRL bribery case

The Kerala High Court on Friday ordered the registration of an FIR under anti-corruption law against former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and others in connection with the alleged CMRL bribery case, based on a report submitted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Justice A Badharudeen allowed a plea filed by advocate K M Shajahan, who argued that the police should register an FIR instead of conducting a preliminary inquiry into the allegations contained in the ED's report.

A detailed judgment is awaited.

The ED had told the court that an FIR could be registered against Vijayan, his daughter Veena T and her husband, P A Mohamed Riyas, based on the report it had submitted to the state police.

The agency argued that its report could be treated as a preliminary inquiry report and used as the basis for registering an FIR.

The state government opposed this contention, arguing that the ED's report was insufficient to register an FIR and that a preliminary inquiry was necessary.

The Congress-led UDF government in Kerala recently ordered a police inquiry following a letter from the ED to the state police chief seeking a probe against Vijayan, Veena and Riyas.

The ED has sought the registration of a case based on what it described as evidence gathered during its investigation and searches conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The agency has alleged that Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) made fraudulent payments of ₹2.78 crore to Veena's now-defunct company, Exalogic Solutions, under the guise of IT consultancy services.