Published Oct 21, 2026 | 1:26 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 21, 2026 | 2:35 PM
CPI(M) leader Pinarayi Vijayan.
The Supreme Court has permitted Pinarayi Vijayan to pursue an appeal against a Kerala High Court single-judge order directing the registration of an FIR against him in the CMRL-Exalogic case.
The Division Bench also stayed the investigation into the FIR for one week.
A Bench comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana made the observations while hearing Vijayan’s plea challenging the High Court’s direction to register an FIR based on information the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) had handed over to the Kerala Police.
“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 Bench observed.
A single-judge Bench of the Kerala High Court had ruled on October 9 that an FIR should be registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act against the former Keralam CM, his daughter T Veena, and his son-in-law P A Mohammed Riyas in the CMRL-Exalogic case.
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.
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 FIR and in such a situation all the applications seeking leave to file 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.
Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, while reacting to the Supreme Court verdict, said it vindicates the state government’s approach to the Enforcement Directorate’s investigation into former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his family.
Chennithala said the government and the Home Department had adopted a cautious approach after receiving the ED’s communication, ensuring that legal procedures were followed without undue haste.
He said the decision to conduct a preliminary inquiry before registering an FIR was part of this approach.
However, the government had to comply with a single-bench order of the Kerala High Court to register an FIR without waiting for the preliminary inquiry, he added.
Chennithala pointed out that the Supreme Court had not ordered the quashing of the FIR registered by the Vigilance Department, which, he said, remained in force. He described the verdict as an endorsement of the government’s stand.
Chennithala said the government’s position remained that the law should take its own course.
(With inputs from Dileep V Kumar. Edited by R Rajesh Kumar.)
