KOCHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday issued a summons to former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for questioning in connection with the CMRL-Exalogic money laundering case, directing him to appear before it on October 23.
Meanwhile, Pinarayi’s lawyer said he would reply to the ED, citing the ongoing Assembly session, which is scheduled to conclude only on October 29, as the reason for his inability to appear on the date.
With the ED issuing the summons, Pinarayi now faces investigations by both the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) and the ED.
The ED has registered separate Enforcement Case Information Reports (ECIRs) against Pinarayi and his son-in-law, MLA P A Mohammed Riyas, over alleged monthly pay-offs by Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) and related hawala transactions.
On Thursday, a Division Bench of the Kerala High Court upheld a single judge’s order directing the VACB to register an FIR against them.
Challenging the High Court order, Pinarayi Vijayan and his family approached the Supreme Court on Friday.
Dismissing their plea seeking leave to appeal, the Kerala High Court had observed that an accused in a corruption case has no legal right to be heard before the registration of an FIR. A Division Bench comprising Justice K Natarajan and Justice Johnson John upheld the single judge’s order directing the registration of an FIR in the case.
The bench observed that “the judgment has not affected the right of the applicants to pursue their constitutional or statutory remedy against the registration of the FIR and, in such a situation, it cannot be held that the applicants established a prima facie or arguable case for granting the leave sought for.
