Kerala HC orders FIR against Pinarayi Vijayan in CMRL bribery case

The Kerala High Court ordered police to register an FIR on the ED's CMRL bribery report against Pinarayi Vijayan and others. The direction moves the matter past a preliminary inquiry and into a formal anti-graft investigation.Kochi,Oct 9, 2026 10:58 ISTThe Kerala High Court on Friday ordered the registration of an FIR under the anti-graft law against former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and others in connection with the alleged CMRL bribery case, based on an Enforcement Directorate report.Justice A Badharudeen allowed a plea by advocate K M Shajahan, who argued that the police should register an FIR instead of carrying out a preliminary inquiry into the allegations mentioned in the ED report. A detailed judgment is awaited.During the hearing, the ED told the court that an FIR could be registered against Vijayan, his daughter Veena T and her husband P A Mohamed Riyas on the basis of the report it had submitted to the state police. It said its report could be treated as a preliminary inquiry report and that an FIR could be registered on that basis.The state government opposed this stand, saying the report submitted by the agency was not enough to register an FIR and that a preliminary inquiry was necessary. The Congress-led UDF government in Kerala had recently ordered a police inquiry after the ED wrote to the State Police Chief seeking a probe against Vijayan, Veena and Riyas. The ED has sought registration of a case based on "evidence" gathered during its probe and searches carried out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The agency has alleged that Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited made fraudulent payments of Rs 2.78 crore to Veena's now-defunct company, Exalogic Solutions, under the guise of "IT consultancy services".With the High Court now directing that an FIR be registered, the case has moved beyond the stage of a preliminary inquiry, with the ED's report at the centre of the proceedings. - Ends