Kochi, Oct 9 In a huge blow to the CPI(M) and former Keralam Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, the Kerala High Court on Friday directed the Vigilance to register an FIR under the anti-graft law against him and others in connection with the alleged CMRL bribery case, saying that information given by the ED shows the commission of offences under the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act.
Justice A Badharudeen said the information given by the Enforcement Directorate, in its entirety, contains sufficient primary materials disclosing the commission of cognizable offences under the PC Act by Vijayan, his daughter Veena T and her husband P A Mohamed Riyas -- a sitting CPI(M) MLA -- who are named in the agency's report in connection with the case.
"When the information, along with the support of statements recorded and documents obtained, shows the commission of offences under the PC Act by the persons referred to in the information, a further preliminary enquiry, into the facts of the case, is found to be totally unwarranted," the court said.
It also said that the ED report contains sufficient materials to register an FIR directly and to investigatethe same.
"Thus, in the facts and circumstances of this case, no further enquiry is required in the instant case and the matters disclosed in the information under section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) make it obligatory for the State Police to register the FIR, ruling out the scope of any other enquiry," the court said.
The order also came as a setback for the ruling Congress-led UDF government as the High Court termed as illegal its decision to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to conduct a preliminary enquiry into the allegations in the ED report and set it aside.
"The decision of the government to form a special team to conduct an enquiry as per Ext.P9 (ED report) without registering an FIR is found illegal on the facts of the case and therefore, the same is set aside," the court said.
It also noted that apart from the notebooks and diaries, the information passed by the ED to the DGP, would show sufficient materials, including statements of many witnesses and the suspected persons.
The court specifically directed the Director of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB), Thiruvananthapuram, to "forthwith" register an FIR based on the information furnished by the ED under the PMLA for offences disclosed under the PC Act against the suspected persons.
It directed the VACB to register an FIR, "investigate the allegations through competent officers of the VACB" and file a final report, without any delay.
The court also directed that the DGP or the head of the SIT having custody of the information given by the ED to hand it over to the VACB "forthwith" for registering an FIR.
"In this connection, the ED is directed to forward all necessary documents to the 3rd respondent (VACB), forthwith, and the 3rd respondent is free to call for any other documents required for the purpose of investigation after registering the FIR," the court said.
The directions came while allowing a plea by advocate K M Shajahan, who had contended that the police should register an FIR rather than conduct a preliminary inquiry on the allegations contained in the ED report.
The ED had claimed in court that an FIR could be registered against Vijayan, his daughter Veena and her husband Mohamed Riyas based on the report it had submitted to the state police.
The contention had been opposed by the state government, which claimed that the report submitted by the agency was not sufficient to register an FIR and that a preliminary inquiry was required.
Following the court verdict, CPI(M) leaders -- Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas, state secretariat member P Jayrajan and party veteran M V Jayarajan -- claimed that Vijayan was being targetted through central agencies and the matter will be dealt with both legally and politically.
Brittas said the court should examine all transactions related to CMRL as, according to a list released by BJP leader Shone George, many top UDF leaders also allegedly received funds from the mining company.
P Jayarajan and M V Jayarajan termed the case against Vijayan as false and a "political conspiracy" and claimed that natural justice was denied as the former CM and others were not heard by the court before passing the order.
George contended that Vijayan was no longer eligible to continue as the Leader of Opposition in the assembly and demanded his resignation.
State Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala denied the order was a setback for the government as it acted in accordance with the legal opinion and said further course of action will be decided after perusing the judgement.
The Congress-led UDF government in Keralam recently ordered a police inquiry based on the ED's letter 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 conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The agency has alleged that Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) made fraudulent payments of Rs 2.78 crore to Veena's now-defunct company, Exalogic Solutions, under the guise of "IT consultancy services."
