NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday will hear a plea by former Keralam Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan seeking a stay on vigilance proceedings in the Rs 278-crore CMRL-Exalogic case, despite his apprehension of imminent arrest.
A vacation bench of Justices Joymala Bagchi and V Mohana will hear the plea of Keralam Leader of Opposition Vijayan. His daughter and son-in-law also approached the apex court against the direction for FIR in the case.
On October 16, senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for Vijayan, mentioned the matter for an urgent hearing, saying that the 82-year-old leader faced the possibility of arrest.
"An 82-year-old man facing possible arrest. We are seeking protection from arrest or any other coercive action. It is a matter of liberty," Luthra said, seeking an urgent hearing. He challenged the Kerala High Court's order directing registration of an FIR, arguing that it was passed by a single judge in proceedings resembling public interest litigation.
The CJI then said the apex court would explore the possibility of constituting a special bench during the upcoming Dussehra vacation, subject to the availability of judges. The Supreme Court is in recess next week for the Dussehra break and will resume regular functioning on October 26. The ED on Friday issued the summons under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after registering a case based on a recent FIR filed by the State police.
It asked him to appear for questioning on October 23 in connection with the CMRL-linked money-laundering case. Vijayan sought protection from arrest and other coercive action in a corruption case linked to the alleged Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL)-Exalogic payoff. Earlier on Thursday, the Kerala High Court division bench declined to interfere with the direction to register FIRs against Vijayan, his daughter Veena T and son-in-law, former minister PA Mohamed Riyas, over alleged financial transactions between CMRL and Veena's now-defunct firm, Exalogic Solutions.
It dismissed their appeals against a single-judge-bench order, holding that an accused in a corruption case has no right to be heard before an FIR is registered. It, however, clarified that they could pursue other constitutional and statutory remedies. On October 9, the High Court single-judge bench ordered the State's Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) to initiate a criminal case following a report forwarded by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to the police.
The ED had called for a case to be registered on the basis of material collected during its probe, including searches carried out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The FIRs were registered by the VACB following allegations of corruption and conspiracy involving payments by CMRL and an associate concern to Exalogic and Veena. The agency alleged that CMRL improperly transferred Rs 2.78 crore to Exalogic Solutions, a company formerly run by Veena, by portraying the payments as fees for IT consultancy services.