Kochi: Former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his family suffered a major legal setback on Thursday as the Kerala High Court dismissed their petitions seeking permission to appeal against a single judge’s order directing the registration of an FIR against them in the Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) bribery case.
A division bench comprising Justices K. Natarajan and Johnson John dismissed the petitions filed by Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter Veena T., and his son-in-law, P. A. Mohammed Riyas, challenging the single judge’s October 9 order. The bench clarified that the October 9 order did not prejudice the petitioners’ right to pursue any constitutional or legal remedies against the FIR. Accordingly, all petitions seeking leave to appeal were dismissed.
In their petitions, Vijayan, Veena, and Riyas argued that the single judge had not given them an opportunity to be heard before directing the registration of an FIR on October 9. On that date, Justice A. Badruddin, while allowing a petition filed by lawyer K. M. Shahjahan, directed the police to register an FIR directly, rather than conduct a preliminary inquiry, based on allegations contained in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) report.
During the hearing, the ED argued that its report could be treated as a preliminary inquiry, providing sufficient grounds for registering a case against the former Chief Minister and his family members.
The ED uncovered details of the alleged irregularities through documents recovered during its investigation and searches conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The agency alleged that Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) had made fraudulent payments amounting to ₹2.78 crore to Veena’s now-defunct company, Exalogic Solutions, under the guise of IT consultancy services. The alleged transactions have since come under legal scrutiny.
