Supreme Court pauses CMRL bribery probe against Pinarayi Vijayan for a week

The Supreme Court stayed the CMRL bribery investigation against Pinarayi Vijayan and his family for one week. The pause allows them to appeal while underscoring statutory limits on the Enforcement Directorate.Image used for representational purposes onlyNewdelhi,Oct 21, 2026 16:16 ISTThe Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed for a week the investigation against former Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter Veena T and her husband P A Mohamed Riyas in the alleged Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited bribery case, news agency Press Trust of India reported.A vacation bench of Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana allowed Vijayan and the others to approach a division bench of the Kerala High Court against an order passed by a single judge.The Supreme Court was hearing petitions filed by the three challenging the single judge's direction to register a First Information Report based on information supplied by the Enforcement Directorate under Section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.“We set aside the impugned order and permit the petitioners to pursue the appeal before the division bench. We make it clear that our observations are limited to the issue at hand, that is, the locus of the petitioners to prefer the appeal, and not an expression of opinion on merits,” the bench said, according to PTI. “To enable the petitioners to pursue the appeal on its merits, we give liberty to the petitioners to pursue the appeal as well as seek interim relief in accordance with law. To enable the petitioners to do so, we direct that the investigation in the impugned First Information Report shall remain stayed for a week,” it added.The Supreme Court also asked the ED not to interfere in the legal jurisdiction of other authorities. “Do your examination under the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act. File your complaint... You have got a scheduled offence. Go ahead with your prosecution. Don't extend your hand beyond your statutory limits. We are making your client (ED) very clear. Don't use the process of statutory powers to meddle into the statutory domain of other entities,” the court remarked during the hearing.“We are fully clear about what you have done and what the high court has done. We will maintain the FIR but no investigation until and unless these issues are decided by the appellate court,” Justice Bagchi orally remarked.The observation came after advocate Zoheb Hossain, appearing for the ED, defended the High Court order and argued that the accused had no right to challenge it because the information provided by the agency disclosed an offence for which the police could register a case without prior court approval.The Supreme Court said it was not questioning the ED's authority to investigate the alleged hawala transactions or prosecute the money-laundering offence. However, it said that once the agency had discharged its duty by informing the state about an offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act, it was for the state to act in accordance with the law.The court said the High Court had “acted in haste” by directing the registration of an FIR against Vijayan and the others.On October 15, the High Court rejected applications filed by Vijayan, Veena and Riyas seeking permission to appeal against the single judge's October 9 order. It held that “an accused in a corruption case has no legal right to be heard before registering FIR”.In their appeals before the High Court, the three claimed that the single judge had not heard them before directing the registration of the FIR. They also argued that the petition on which the October 9 order was passed was in the form of a public interest litigation and should, therefore, have been heard by a division bench dealing with such matters.The appeals were filed after the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau's Special Investigation Unit-1 registered two FIRs against Vijayan and his family members in connection with the case.On October 9, the High Court directed the bureau to register a case based on a report submitted by the ED to the state police. The ED had sought the registration of a case based on evidence gathered during its investigation and searches under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.The agency has alleged that CMRL made fraudulent payments of Rs 2.78 crore to Veena's now-defunct company, Exalogic Solutions, under the guise of IT consultancy services.The FIRs will remain in place, but the investigation will be stayed for a week to allow Vijayan, Veena and Riyas to pursue their appeal and seek interim relief before a division bench of the Kerala High Court.- Ends