THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister V D Satheesan said the UDF government did not show any undue haste nor tried to exact personal vengeance against ex-CM Pinarayi Vijayan and his family in the CMRL-Exalogic pay-off case.
He added that in the backdrop of the High Court verdict, which ordered registration of an FIR against the veteran communist leader and his family members, the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau will register a case on the matter.
The state’s move to proceed with a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act follows the High Court verdict, which quashed the appointment of a Special Investigation Team and directed the anti-graft wing to take the helm of the matters.
The CM said, after the state government received a letter from the Enforcement Directorate urging registration of an FIR against the former CM and his family, including daughter Veena T and son-in-law and former PWD minister P A Mohammed Riyas, the matter was referred for legal opinion.
The legal opinion cited two rulings of the Supreme Court: One which said an FIR should be immediately registered, while the other verdict said in corruption cases, preliminary enquiry should be conducted before registering an FIR.
“We thought why should we show undue haste in registering a case against Pinarayi Vijayan and his family. And if we hastily registered a case, the court might have questioned our motive behind the swift action. Now since the High Court has given an order, we will honour it fully,” Satheesan said.
Satheesan said the High Court verdict was that FIR can be registered in cases were cognizable offences are revealed. To a question on what does the case entails for the other names that were mentioned in the diary of the managing director of the CMRL, he said the High Court ruling is that case should not be taken against them. There are Supreme Court rulings too which said cases should not be registered on the basis of mere diary entries, he added.
HC FOILED BID TO PROTECT PINARAYI, DAUGHTER: BJP
T’Puram: With the HC directing the vigilance department to register an FIR in the corruption case, Pinarayi Vijayan should no longer cling to the position of Leader of the Opposition, BJP MLA V Muraleedharan has said. The High Court has foiled the Indi alliance’s “rescue mission”, he added. The court’s direction to register an FIR meant that a crime had taken place, he said.
ACTION WILL BE TAKEN AFTER STUDYING ORDER: ANILKUMAR
Thrissur: Revenue Minister A P Anilkumar has said that the government would study in detail the High Court order before deciding on further action. He said he had learnt about the order through the media and that the government had no preconceptions on the matter. Appropriate action would be taken after examining the verdict, Anilkumar said in Thrissur.