Published Oct 23, 2026 | 1:25 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 23, 2026 | 1:25 PM
An embattled trio: Veena, Pinarayi and Riyas. (File Photo)
The Kerala High Court is set to hear on Monday the appeals filed by former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter T Veena and MLA Muhammad Riyas challenging a single-bench order directing the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) to register an FIR in the CMRL-Exalogic pay-off case.
A Division Bench of Justices Satish Ninan and P Krishna Kumar listed the matter for Monday after it was mentioned on Friday.
The Supreme Court on October 21 set aside the High Court’s earlier decision denying the trio permission to appeal and remanded the matter for reconsideration.
“We are not against any investigation. We will maintain the FIR but no investigation until and unless the issues are decided by the appellate court,” the Court observed.
Vijayan approached the Supreme Court after a Kerala High Court Division Bench comprising Justices K Natarajan and Johnson John dismissed, on October 15, three petitions seeking leave to challenge the single-judge order.
“We find that the impugned judgment hasn’t affected the right of the applicants to pursue the constitution of the statutory remedy against the registration of an FIR and in such a situation all the applications seeking leave to file an appeal are dismissed,” Bar and Bench reported the Division Bench as holding.
The High Court Division Bench had also observed that accused persons in a corruption case have no legal right to be heard before an FIR is registered. It said they cannot insist on a preliminary inquiry when the information received is supported by sufficient material disclosing cognisable offences.
On October 9, a single-judge Bench of the Kerala High Court had directed the VACB to register an FIR under the Prevention of Corruption Act based on information from the ED.
It also ruled that the state government’s decision to conduct a preliminary inquiry without registering an FIR was illegal and quashed the order constituting an SIT.
Justice A Badharudeen delivered the verdict on a petition filed by KM Shajahan, former private secretary to late Kerala Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan. Shajahan had challenged the Keralam government’s decision to order a preliminary Crime Branch inquiry into the allegations against the trio instead of registering an FIR.
Two FIRs were subsequently registered by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau’s Special Investigation Unit-1, following legal advice and the High Court’s directive.
In the first case, registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act, Vijayan was named the first accused. The allegations centred on payments made by Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) to Veena and her company, Exalogic Solutions.
The second FIR named former minister and MLA PA Mohammed Riyas, Vijayan’s son-in-law, as the first accused and Veena as the second accused. It concerned separate allegations relating to financial transactions and the alleged transfer of money abroad through hawala channels, sources said.
The ED had alleged that Pinarayi Vijayan, currently the Leader of the Opposition, received ₹3.28 crore as a bribe from CMRL, allegedly routed through his daughter T Veena.
The agency has based the allegation, among other things, on the purported admission of P Suresh Kumar, former CFO/CGM of CMRL.
According to the ED, former minister and MLA PA Mohammed Riyas allegedly received bribe funds and facilitated their transfer to Dubai through Veena and other known associates. The agency has further alleged that Veena assisted in the collection and routing of funds allegedly meant for Vijayan and Riyas.
Her company, Exalogic Solutions Pvt Ltd, has been described by the ED as a corporate vehicle allegedly used to route sham payments. The allegations form part of the ED’s CMRL-linked money-laundering investigation.
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(With inputs from Sreelakshmi Soman and Dileep V Kumar. Edited by R Rajesh Kumar.)
