Kerala govt to file FIR against Pinarayi Vijayan in CMRL case, won't appeal

Keralam Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Friday said his government would comply with the Kerala High Court's direction to register an FIR against former chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his family in the alleged CMRL bribery case. He also made it clear that the government would not appeal against the court's order.

Satheesan said that when the government received information from the Enforcement Directorate to register a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act against Vijayan, his daughter Veena T and her husband P A Mohamed Riyas, "we did not act with undue haste or personal vendetta". He said the legal opinion received by the government referred to a Supreme Court judgment which says that in corruption cases, a preliminary enquiry can be conducted to ascertain the facts. "So, we went with the legal opinion and ordered a preliminary enquiry.

"Now the court has directed that an FIR be lodged. We will abide by the court direction, and we will take steps to lodge the FIR. The law will take its own course," he said.

When asked whether the investigation linked to the FIR would also cover UDF leaders who had allegedly received contributions from CMRL, Satheesan said the High Court verdict was clear that a probe cannot be ordered merely on the basis of some diary entries.

The V D Satheesan-led UDF government had constituted a Special Investigation Team to conduct a preliminary enquiry into the allegations contained in the ED's report. On Friday, the High Court held that the government's decision to set up the SIT without first registering an FIR was illegal.

Justice A Badharudeen specifically directed the Director of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, Thiruvananthapuram, to "forthwith" register an FIR on the basis of the information furnished by the ED under Section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act for offences disclosed under the Prevention of Corruption Act against the suspects specifically named in the agency's report.

In its order, the High Court said the information given by the ED showed the commission of offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act. It said the information contained sufficient primary material disclosing cognisable offences under the Act by Vijayan, Veena and Riyas, all of whom were named in the agency's report in connection with the case.

The ED has sought registration of a case on the basis of "evidence" gathered during its probe and searches conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The agency has alleged that Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited made fraudulent payments of Rs 2.78 crore to Veena's now-defunct company, Exalogic Solutions, under the guise of "IT consultancy services". In sum, the government has said it will register the FIR as directed by the High Court and allow the legal process to move forward.