Kerala HC pauses CMRL bribery cases against Pinarayi Vijayan and family

The Kerala High Court paused the CMRL bribery cases against Pinarayi Vijayan and his family for four weeks. The CPI(M) welcomed the relief, while the BJP criticised the decision and disputed claims of vindication.Image used for representational purposes onlyThiruvananthapuram,Oct 26, 2026 21:22 ISTFormer Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday welcomed the Kerala High Court's decision to pause for four weeks the cases and investigation against him and his family members in the alleged CMRL bribery case, news agency Press Trust of India reported. The BJP, however, described the decision as “unfortunate”.The High Court also stayed an October 9 order by a single judge directing the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) to register cases against Vijayan, his daughter Veena T and her husband P A Mohamed Riyas. The direction was based on information provided by the Enforcement Directorate in the alleged bribery case involving Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL).Vijayan, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, said he had always had faith in the country's legal system. “I firmly believed that law will take its own course. That is what happened in the Kerala High Court today,” he told reporters, according to PTI.CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan also welcomed the order and said it upheld the rule of law. He claimed the decision vindicated the party's stand that the alleged bribery case had been “fabricated” to target Vijayan and the CPI(M). “Though the case was initially projected as being against Veena and her now defunct company Exalogic Solutions, it was intended to target Vijayan, Riyas and the CPI(M). The High Court has upheld the rule of law by not believing the false narratives in favour of continuing with the FIRs,” Govindan claimed.He also alleged that the High Court's decision had exposed what he called a “Narendra Modi-ED-V D Satheesan collaboration” against the CPI(M). “As we said in the past, we will legally and politically oppose the attacks against the party by this collaboration,” he told reporters. BJP state vice-president Shone George, meanwhile, blamed the state government for the High Court's decision. “From the very start, the state government was thinking of ways to protect Vijayan, Veena and Riyas in the matter. That stand was repeated by the Advocate General who represented the state in the High Court,” he said at a press conference.“Despite lodging of the FIRs, the AG told the court that the government was in favour of a preliminary enquiry. We strongly oppose the stand,” George said.George claimed that no case would have been registered had petitioner and advocate K M Shajahan not approached the High Court seeking such a direction. He stressed that the court had only stayed the single-judge order and paused the cases and investigation.“It has not said that Vijayan has not received bribes or that he is innocent even though claims in that regard are being made by some,” George said, adding, “No one should be misled by such claims.”Neither the Congress-led UDF government nor leaders of the ruling alliance had commented on the High Court's decision. The order has, for four weeks, paused the cases and investigation against Vijayan, Veena and Riyas while also staying the earlier direction to register the cases.- Ends