NEW DELHI, October 21 (ANI) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed the investigation for one week into the FIR against former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter Veena Thaikkandiyil and his son-in-law, Mohammed Riyas, in the CMRL-Exalogic corruption case. The order allows them to approach a Kerala High Court division bench challenging a directive to register the FIR.
A vacation bench comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana set aside the High Court division bench’s order denying them permission to appeal against a single judge’s direction. The Supreme Court clarified that the FIR would remain in place, but the investigation would be suspended for seven days to allow the petitioners to seek interim relief from the appellate court.
The bench also questioned the haste with which the single judge had ordered the FIR based on a communication from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under Section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), particularly when the state had already constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to conduct a preliminary inquiry. It also noted that Vijayan had not been heard before the order was issued.
“The FIR is registered. That is it. We will allow the FIR to exist, but we will stall the investigation,” Justice Bagchi said, cautioning the ED against exceeding its statutory powers to influence the functioning of other investigative agencies.
“Don’t use the process of statutory powers to meddle into the statutory domain of other entities,” the bench observed.
The Supreme Court said the question of whether an ED communication under Section 66(2) obligates a state agency to register an FIR in a corruption case requires examination. It rejected the argument that the Supreme Court’s judgment in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary made such registration mandatory in every case.
“The PMLA can’t be the super-administrator mandating everything everywhere,” Justice Bagchi remarked.
Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra, appearing for the petitioners, argued that the single judge had directed the registration of the FIR without hearing Vijayan. He also questioned whether the state was legally obligated to act on the ED’s recommendation.
The complainant, K.M. Shajahan, maintained that the ED’s communication required the state to register an FIR. ED counsel Zoheb Hossain submitted that the material disclosed cognizable offenses.
The bench clarified that its observations were limited to the petitioners’ right to pursue an appeal and did not express any opinion on the merits of the case. It said the High Court division bench was free to decide the appeal and any application for interim relief independently.
Before the Supreme Court, Vijayan sought protection from arrest and other coercive action in the corruption case involving alleged payments between Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) and Exalogic Solutions.
Earlier, the Kerala High Court division bench declined to interfere with the direction to register FIRs against Vijayan, his daughter and his son-in-law over alleged financial transactions between CMRL and Veena’s now-defunct firm, Exalogic Solutions.
The division bench dismissed their appeals against a single judge’s order, holding that an accused person in a corruption case has no right to be heard before an FIR is registered. However, it clarified that they could pursue other constitutional and statutory remedies.
On October 9, the High Court’s single-judge bench directed the state’s Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) to initiate a criminal case following a report forwarded by the ED to the police.
The ED had called for a case to be registered based on material collected during its investigation, including searches conducted under the PMLA.
The VACB registered the FIRs following allegations of corruption and conspiracy involving payments by CMRL and an associated concern to Exalogic and Veena.
The agency alleged that CMRL improperly transferred Rs. 2.78 crore to Exalogic Solutions, a company formerly run by Veena, by presenting the payments as fees for IT consultancy services. (ANI)
About The Author
