Kerala High Court seeks CM Pinarayi Vijayan’s stand on plea for probe against him

The vigilance court had said that necessary facts constituting corruption were absent in the plea.

Also Read: FIR against Kuzhalnadan, 20 others over alleged illegal land dealings in Kerala

The plea

Kuzhalnadan had initially approached the Special Vigilance Court in Kochi, saying the Vigilance Department refused to probe the financial transactions between Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL) and Veena’s company, Exalogic.

Later, he changed his stance and sought a court-monitored probe into the alleged financial transactions.

“Even if the facts stated in the complaint are accepted on face value, they do not constitute the offence alleged. Of course, there are allegations of corruption which have sprouted from certain suspicions and doubts entertained by the complainant. But allegations of such doubts and suspicions are not factual allegations constituting the offence,” the vigilance court had observed.

The Congress has been targeting the chief minister, his daughter, and the CPI(M) after a Malayalam daily reported that the CMRL had paid a total of ₹1.72 crore to the chief minister’s daughter between 2017 and 2020.

The report cited the ruling of an interim board for settlement and said that CMRL previously had an agreement with Veena’s IT firm for consulting and software support services.

It was also alleged that though no service was rendered by her firm, the amount was paid on a monthly basis “due to her relationship with a prominent person.”

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