New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed for a week the investigation against former Keralam chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter Veena T, and her husband P A Mohamed Riyas in connection with the alleged CMRL bribery case.
A bench comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana permitted Vijayan and the other respondents to approach the division bench of the Kerala High Court to challenge a previous single-judge order.
On October 15, the Kerala High Court had dismissed applications filed by Vijayan, Veena, and Riyas seeking to appeal an October 9 order issued by a single judge. In that decision, the high court maintained that an accused individual in a corruption case possesses no legal right to a hearing prior to the formal registration of an FIR.
During their earlier filings before the high court, the three individuals argued they were denied an opportunity to be heard by the single judge before the directive to file the FIR was issued. They also contended that the original petition leading to the October 9 order functioned as a public interest litigation and should have properly been assigned to a division bench handling public interest matters.
These appeals had been initiated after the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau's Special Investigation Unit-1 filed two separate FIRs naming Vijayan and members of his family over the controversy.
The legal proceedings trace back to an October 9 directive from the Kerala High Court instructing the VACB to initiate a case, acting upon a report submitted to state authorities by the Enforcement Directorate. The ED had requested the registration of a case relying on findings and evidence uncovered during searches conducted pursuant to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Investigators have alleged that Cochin Minerals and Rutiles Limited made illicit payments totaling ₹2.78 crore to Veena's now-defunct enterprise, Exalogic Solutions, under the pretense of providing information technology consultancy services.