The Supreme Court has granted a seven-day interim relief to former Kerala Chief Minister and current Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter T Veena and son-in-law, former Minister PA Mohamed Riyas, in the Rs 278 crore CMRL-Exalogic payoff case.
The Supreme Court also stayed the investigation into the FIR for seven days, providing temporary protection to the petitioners. During the proceedings, the court questioned the procedure followed in registering the FIR and observed that a preliminary inquiry should have been conducted. It also raised questions over the absence of the required approval under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Reacting to the Supreme Court’s intervention, former Kerala Law Minister and CPI(M) leader P Rajeev described the interim relief as a setback for what he called the “ED-VD” combination, referring to the Enforcement Directorate and Chief Minister VD Satheeshan. Taking a swipe at both the CPI(M) and the Congress, Surendran said the Supreme Court’s decision gave neither the CPI(M) a reason to celebrate nor the Congress any reason for quiet satisfaction.
Surendran also highlighted the Supreme Court’s questioning of the state government’s failure to register an FIR, claiming that the observations strengthened allegations that the government had attempted to derail the case.
The Supreme Court’s intervention was primarily aimed at correcting this procedural issue rather than examining the allegations themselves, according to Rajeev. The former Law Minister said the decision vindicated the CPI(M)’s position that the proceedings against its leaders were politically motivated.
