New Delhi, October 21, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Supreme Court on Wednesday set aside a Kerala High Court order declining to entertain appeals filed by former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter T. Veena, son-in-law and former minister P.A. Mohammed Riyas, and others against a direction to register a vigilance FIR in the alleged CMRL-Exalogic pay-off case.
A Bench of Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana granted the petitioners seven days to approach the Kerala High Court’s Division Bench, directing that the investigation into the FIR registered by the Kerala Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) remain stayed during this period.
The Supreme Court clarified that its observations were limited to whether the petitioners were entitled to challenge the single judge’s order and would not prejudice the appellate court’s decision on the merits of their appeals.
The proceedings stem from an October 9 order by a single judge of the Kerala High Court directing the registration of an FIR under the Prevention of Corruption Act based on material communicated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Vijayan, Veena, Mohammed Riyas and others approached the apex court after a Division Bench of the Kerala High Court declined to stay the single judge’s directions and reserved its decision on whether they could maintain appeals against an order passed in proceedings to which they were not parties.
Rejecting the objections raised by the ED and the original writ petitioner regarding the appellants’ right to challenge the order, the Supreme Court held that they had established a prima facie basis for claiming locus standi to pursue their appeals.
The Bench observed that the single judge had specifically recorded a finding that the material supplied by the ED disclosed a cognizable offence, making the registration of an FIR obligatory. Since this finding could affect the petitioners in separate proceedings challenging the FIR, they could not be denied an opportunity to contest it before the appellate forum.
“This is not a case where, on the receipt of communication under Section 66(2) PMLA, the state government had registered an FIR on its own. On the contrary, the registration of FIR and commencement of investigation were pursuant to the order passed by the Constitutional Court,” the Supreme Court observed.
The Bench further noted that the single judge had gone beyond directing the registration of an FIR by also ordering the commencement of an investigation and submission of the final report.
“Commencement of investigation and taking the same to its logical conclusion under the Prevention of Corruption Act requires compliance with other conditions of the special law,” the court said, adding that these circumstances provided a prima facie basis for the petitioners to seek leave to appeal.
Setting aside the impugned order, the Supreme Court permitted the petitioners to pursue their appeals before the Kerala High Court’s Division Bench.
“We are not against any investigation. We will maintain the FIR but no investigation until and unless the issues are decided by the appellate court,” Justice Bagchi-led Bench orally observed during the hearing.
The court clarified that the seven-day stay was intended only to enable the petitioners to file their appeals and would not prevent the Division Bench from independently deciding any application for interim relief in accordance with law.
The case concerns alleged payments made by Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) to Exalogic Solutions Pvt Ltd, a company founded by Veena, during the first government led by Vijayan in Kerala.
The ED has alleged that Exalogic received Rs 3.28 crore from CMRL for services that were not provided and claimed that the payments were made due to political influence, amounting to a bribe to Vijayan.
The former Chief Minister has been named as the first accused and Veena as the second accused among seven persons named in the case.
Following the single judge’s order, Vigilance Director Manoj Abraham had directed the formation of a probe team, with Deputy Inspector General of Police Thomson Jose supervising the investigation.
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