Pinarayi Vijayan CMRL Case Supreme Court Hearing Live: Plea against vigilance probe

The Supreme Court on Wednesday will hear former Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s plea challenging a Kerala High Court order directing registration of FIR against him in the Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL)-Exalogic case. A vacation bench comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana will hear the matter. Besides Vijayan, his daughter and co-accused, Veena T, and son-in-law Muhammed Riyas, have also approached the Supreme Court.

Kerala High Court’s order: On October 9, a single-judge bench of the Kerala High Court directed the state Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau to register an FIR against Vijayan, Veena, Riyas, and others over alleged illegal payments to Veena’s IT firm. The development came after the Enforcement Directorate, which is probing allegations that Veena’s firm, Exalogic Solutions, received illegal payments from Kochi-based CMRL when the CPI(M) was in power, recommended last month that the state police register an FIR against Vijayan and others under the Prevention of Corruption Act. A former minister, Riyas, is a member of the CPI(M) state secretariat. Subsequently, a division bench of the high court dismissed the plea of Vijayan and others seeking permission to appeal against the October 9 order.