THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a major relief to CM Pinarayi Vijayan and a big setback to Congress MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan, the Vigilance court on Monday rejected the petition of the legislator seeking a probe against the CM and his daughter Veena Thaikkandiyil on the allegation that they had received a monthly payment from the Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) in return for favouring the operations of the firm.
The court rejected the petition citing that the documents produced by the petitioner could not prove the allegations against the CM and his daughter. The petitioner during the previous hearing had produced five documents to prove the allegations against the CM and his daughter.
Mathew had initially filed the petition seeking the court to issue a directive to the Vigilance and Anti-corruption Bureau (VACB) to probe the allegation. Later the petitioner changed his stand and asked for a probe directly conducted by the court.
The government counsel had argued that change in the stand had revealed that the petition was politically motivated and sought its dismissal.
Close on the heels of the CMRL row, Mathew had approached the court seeking to direct the Vigilance to register a case and probe the allegation. The government in its reply informed the court that the petition was not legally maintainable. It pointed out that the court cannot review the order of the Income Tax Settlement Board and two Vigilance courts had already disposed similar complaints.