The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned former Keralam chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan for questioning on October 23 in connection with the alleged CMRL bribery case, officials said on Friday.
According to a PTI report, the summons have been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), under which the central agency has registered a case after taking cognisance of a state police FIR in the matter, they said. Vijayan, 81, has been asked to appear at the ED office in Kochi.
The development comes on the day Vijayan moved the Supreme Court challenging a Kerala High Court order directing the registration of an FIR against him and his family members in the alleged bribery case.
Appearing for Vijayan, senior advocate Sidharth Luthra mentioned the plea for urgent listing before a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi. Luthra also sought protection for Vijayan from coercive action, pointing out that an FIR had been registered in the case.
The CJI said the matter would be heard when the Supreme Court reopens on October 26 after the Dussehra break. He also said he might constitute a bench during the holidays next week, subject to the availability of judges.
The Supreme Court challenge follows a setback for Vijayan and his family in the Kerala High Court on Thursday. A division bench dismissed their applications seeking permission to appeal against a single-judge order directing the registration of an FIR in the case.
The applications were filed by Vijayan, his daughter Veena T and her husband, state minister P A Mohamed Riyas. They had argued that the single judge had directed the registration of the FIR without hearing them.
The division bench held that “an accused in a corruption case has no legal right to be heard before registering the FIR”. It said the appeals stood dismissed following the rejection of the applications seeking permission to file them.
On October 9, the Kerala High Court directed the state's Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) to register a case based on a report submitted by the ED to the state police.
The ED had sought the registration of a case based on evidence gathered during its investigation and searches conducted under the anti-money laundering law.
The VACB subsequently registered two FIRs against Vijayan and his family members in connection with the alleged bribery case involving Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL).
The ED has alleged that CMRL made fraudulent payments totalling Rs 2.78 crore to Veena's now-defunct company, Exalogic Solutions, under the guise of IT consultancy services.
The allegations concern payments allegedly made by CMRL to Exalogic. The case is being investigated by the ED under the PMLA, while the VACB has registered cases following the High Court's direction.
(With PTI inputs)
