Published Sep 23, 2026 | 2:58 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 23, 2026 | 2:58 PM
Kerala chief minister V D Satheesan
Chief Minister VD Satheesan has defended his government’s decision to order a police inquiry into the politically contentious CMRL-Exalogic case, saying it was based on legal obligations, not political motive.
The Chief Minister said that the government had little option after receiving information from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and insisted that the decision was based on two Supreme Court judgments governing the handling of such complaints.
Referring to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary vs Union of India, Satheesan said law enforcement agencies were bound to act on information shared by the ED under Section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
“The argument about the potentiality of abuse of power (by the Enforcement Directorate)… cannot be a ground for declaring the provision unconstitutional,” Justice AM Khanwilkar had stated on behalf of the three-judge Supreme Court bench in the case, while upholding the ED’s powers.
The government and the police had little say in the matter, Satheesan said, citing legal advice from the Advocate General.
The Chief Minister also referred to the Supreme Court’s 2013 judgment in Lalita Kumari vs State of Uttar Pradesh, which dealt with the registration of FIRs and preliminary inquiries.
“The registration of an FIR is mandatory under Section 154 of the Code if the information discloses commission of a cognizable offence and no preliminary inquiry is permissible in such a situation,” a five-judge bench headed by the then Supreme Court Chief Justice P Sathasivam had held.
Satheesan said the ruling allowed for a preliminary inquiry in cases involving allegations such as commercial offences or corruption to determine whether the information disclosed a cognisable offence.
The Chief Minister said the government had therefore followed the legal procedure rather than acted in haste.
“There is no haste on the part of the government. Nor is there any intention to harass or hunt political opponents. The government has only acted on its legal obligations. As I said earlier, the law will take its own course,” he said.
The police inquiry relates to allegations surrounding the CMRL-Exalogic transactions involving Leader of the Opposition and former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter T Veena, and his son-in-law and former Minister PA Mohamed Riyas, who is now an MLA.
Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala had earlier indicated to reporters that the decision was driven by “legal prerequisites, and not politics”, rejecting the contention raised by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) that the move was politically motivated.
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(Edited by R Rajesh Kumar.)
