Pinarayi Vijayan Moves Supreme Court To Block Vigilance Probe In CMRL Case
The Supreme Court will hear Pinarayi Vijayan's plea to stay vigilance proceedings and avoid arrest in the Rs 2.78-crore CMRL-Exalogic case.
The Supreme Court is set to hear a plea filed by former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on October 21, as he seeks a stay on vigilance proceedings in the controversial Rs 2.78-crore CMRL-Exalogic case. The move comes amid growing fears of an imminent arrest for the 82-year-old leader.
Urgent Plea for Liberty
Appearing before the court, senior advocate Siddharth Luthra highlighted the urgency of the matter, emphasizing the age of the leader and the potential for coercive action. Luthra argued that the case is fundamentally a "matter of liberty," requesting the apex court to protect Vijayan from arrest.
The legal challenge specifically targets a Kerala High Court order that directed the registration of a First Information Report (FIR). Luthra contended that the order was passed by a single judge in a manner that mirrored public interest litigation proceedings rather than a standard legal process.
Family Members Also Seek Relief
Pinarayi Vijayan is not the only one approaching the top court. His daughter, Veena T, and his son-in-law, former minister PA Mohamed Riyas, have also moved the Supreme Court to challenge the directions for the FIR in this case.
This follows a decision by a Kerala High Court division bench, which refused to interfere with the order to register FIRs against the trio. The bench maintained that an accused in a corruption case does not have the right to be heard before an FIR is officially registered, though it noted that they remained free to pursue other constitutional remedies.
The Core of the CMRL-Exalogic Controversy
The case centers on allegations of corruption and conspiracy involving Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) and a now-defunct firm called Exalogic Solutions, which was previously managed by Veena T.
The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) has alleged that CMRL improperly transferred Rs 2.78 crore to Exalogic Solutions. According to the agency, these payments were falsely presented as fees for IT consultancy services to mask the true nature of the transaction.
ED Involvement and Upcoming Deadlines
The legal battle intensified after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) forwarded a report to the police based on evidence gathered during its own probe, including searches conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Following the registration of the FIR by the state police, the ED issued summons to Pinarayi Vijayan under the PMLA, directing him to appear for questioning on October 23.
Court Schedule
The plea will be heard by a vacation bench consisting of Justices Joymala Bagchi and V Mohana. While the Supreme Court is scheduled for a Dussehra break next week, the Chief Justice of India indicated that the court would explore the possibility of constituting a special bench during the vacation, depending on judge availability. Regular court functioning is expected to resume on October 26.