States » SouthPosted at: Oct 13 2026 6:18PM


Kerala HC reserves verdict on appeals challenging FIR order against Pinarayi Vijayan, family

Kochi, Oct 13 (UNI) The Kerala High Court on Tuesday reserved its verdict on appeals filed by Kerala Opposition leader and CPI(M) polutbureau member Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter Veena T. and her husband Mohammed Riyas against a single-judge directive to register a Vigilance case in the CMRL-Exalogic alleged pay-off case.
The Division Bench of Justice K. Natarajan and Justice Johnson John refused to stay the order pending disposal of the appeals, which challenge the direction to the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) to register an FIR against the three under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The appellants have approached the court seeking permission to challenge the single-judge ruling, contending that they were not parties to the original petition and were denied an opportunity to present their arguments before an order affecting them was issued.
Senior advocates K. Gopalakrishna Kurup, S. Sreekumar and T.A. Shaji appeared for the appellants, while Advocate General K. Jaju Babu represented the State government. Assistant Solicitor General P. Sreekumar appeared for the Enforcement Directorate (ED), and advocate V. Sethunath represented the original petitioner.
The appellants argued that the single judge had passed the order without hearing them, although the proceedings involved allegations against them and materials supplied by the ED. They maintained that they were necessary parties to the case and that the failure to hear them violated the principles of natural justice.
They also questioned the maintainability of the original writ petition, arguing that it was essentially a public interest litigation that should not have been entertained. Their counsel further contended that the petitioner had alternative remedies under criminal law.
Opposing the challenge, the ED argued that an accused person has no automatic right to be heard before an FIR is registered. The agency also submitted that, since the single-judge order had already been implemented, the scope for interference at this stage was limited.
The original petitioner defended the proceedings, stating that the allegations involved substantial amounts of public money and raised issues of public interest. He argued that allegations of offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act warranted appropriate action.
The State government submitted that the special team had been constituted to examine whether the information received from the ED disclosed cognisable offences. According to the State, the information supplied by the central agency was not clear enough to establish the commission of such offences without further verification.
The appeals arise from an October 9 order in which a single judge set aside the State government's decision to conduct a preliminary enquiry through a special investigation team. The court held that the decision to proceed with a preliminary enquiry instead of registering an FIR was illegal in the circumstances of the case.
The single judge subsequently directed the VACB to register a case incorporating relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act against Vijayan, Veena and Riyas on the basis of information forwarded by the ED.
The proceedings originated from a petition filed by advocate K.M. Shajahan seeking action on the basis of information communicated by the ED. The allegations relate to financial transactions involving Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) and Exalogic Solutions Pvt. Ltd., founded by Veena.
The Division Bench will now decide whether the appellants can pursue their challenges to the single-judge order. With interim relief denied, the direction to register the FIR has not been stayed.
UNI DS
Tags: #Kerala HC reserves verdict on appeals challenging FIR order against Pinarayi Vijayan# family
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