Pinarayi Vijayan, kin move Kerala High Court in appeal against direction to register FIR in CMRL Exalogic payoff case

Keralam’s Leader of Opposition and former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has moved a Division Bench of the Kerala High Court, aggrieved by a Single Bench direction to register a First Information Report (FIR) against him and other accused in the CMRL Exalogic payoff case.

The Division Bench of Justices K. Natarajan and Johnson John admitted the petitions filed by Mr. Vijayan, his daughter T. Veena and son-in-law and former Public Works Department Minister P. A. Mohammad Riyas. 

A Single Bench of the court had earlier directed the registration of an FIR including offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The court also directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to forward all required documents to the Director of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB). 

The ED had informed the Single Judge that it found a predicate offence during its investigation into the alleged payoff case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, and produced it in a sealed cover before the court. The Single Bench held that the material given by the ED disclosed prima facie evidence of the alleged predicate offence and no further enquiry was required to register an FIR against the accused.

The accused sought to stay the operation of the Single Bench’s judgment and the subsequent steps arising from the order, including registration of the FIR, till the disposal of the appeals.

The accused contended that they were not provided an opportunity to be heard even though the judgment directly concerned them. They argued that the Single Bench erred in finding that no further enquiry was required before registering an FIR against them under the PC Act. 

Mr. Vijayan is accused of amassing disproportionate assets, intentional enrichment and abetment under the PC Act, while Ms. Veena and Mr. Riyas were accused of money laundering under the PMLA Act. The matter arises from allegations that Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited, a private mining company, made monthly payments to Ms Veena through her now-defunct firm, Exalogic. Ms. Veena was accused of receiving the payments from 2017 to 2021, allegedly without rendering any tangible service.