ED likely to oppose Pinarayi Vijayan's appeal in Kerala High Court in CMRL-Exalogic case

The Enforcement Directorate is likely to oppose an appeal that former Kerala Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan is expected to file in the Division Bench of the Kerala High Court against an FIR registered by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) in the CMRL-Exalogic pay-off case involving Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd.

A meeting of senior Enforcement Directorate officials began in Kochi on Wednesday and was expected to decide the agency's legal course. The meeting followed the Supreme Court's decision on Wednesday to stay the police investigation based on the VACB FIR against Mr Vijayan, his daughter T. Veena and his son-in-law and former Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas.

The FIR was registered after a Single Judge Bench of the Kerala High Court directed the State Police to register it under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The direction was based on information the Enforcement Directorate shared with the Kerala Police under Section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. Section 66(2) of the PMLA permits the ED to share information with police for investigation of scheduled offences. The VACB is the State agency that investigates corruption cases, while the ED investigates money-laundering offences under the PMLA.

A Division Bench of the High Court declined leave on October 15 to Mr Vijayan, Ms Veena and Mr Riyas to appeal the Single Judge Bench order of October 9. They then approached the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court's stay applies to the police investigation based on the VACB FIR. The ED has taken note that the Supreme Court did not record any opinion on the validity of the Enforcement Case Information Reports (ECIRs) registered by the agency in the case.

The ED had summoned Mr Vijayan to appear for questioning at its office on Friday in connection with the money-laundering case linked to the CMRL-Exalogic pay-off case. The agency has registered two ECIRs under the PMLA against Mr Vijayan, Ms Veena and Mr Riyas. An ECIR is the ED's internal document that marks the beginning of a money-laundering investigation.

The ED is likely to wait for the Division Bench of the Kerala High Court to decide Mr Vijayan's appeal against the VACB FIR before pursuing further action. Mr Vijayan is unlikely to appear for Friday's questioning, citing the Supreme Court's stay on the probe into the FIR and the ongoing Assembly session. In that case, the agency may have to serve him a fresh notice summoning him for questioning.

The agency has considered possible legal challenges to its probe. The Supreme Court, while staying the police investigation, observed that there was no hurdle in the ED proceeding with its investigation into the money-laundering angle in the pay-off case. It also allowed Mr Vijayan and his family members to challenge the ECIRs before the appropriate forum in accordance with law.

The case involves allegations linked to the CMRL-Exalogic pay-off matter and has led to proceedings before the Kerala High Court and the Supreme Court. The ED's investigation under the PMLA and the State Police's investigation under the Prevention of Corruption Act are separate proceedings, though they arise from the same set of allegations. The legal position continues to develop as the High Court and the Supreme Court hear the matter. The proceedings are at the investigation stage.