Kerala HC issues notices to CM Pinarayi Vijayan, daughter, UDF leaders in CMRL payments case

Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan said that the crores of rupees paid by CMRL to the CM’s daughter was a part of converting black money into white

Kochi: The Kerala high court on Friday issued notices to chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter Veena Thaikandiyil, Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, IUML leader PK Kunhalikutty and others on a revision petition in the case of alleged bribes paid to political leaders by the staff of Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL), a mining firm near Kochi.

The high court underlined that if notice is not issued to the accused in the case, then it would go against the recent decision of the Supreme Court. (HT Archives)

The bench of Justice K Babu impleaded in the case suo motu and acted on a revision petition filed by now-deceased social activist Gireesh Babu challenging the dismissal of a plea by the Court of the Enquiry Commissioner and Special Judge (Vigilance), Muvattupuzha. The plea had demanded a vigilance probe into the suspicious payments between CMRL and the firm owned by the chief minister’s daughter, which was denied by the vigilance court stating that the complainant furnished no evidence of the same.

The high court underlined that if notice is not issued to the accused in the case, then it would go against the recent decision of the Supreme Court.

The court said, “Notice to the parties arrayed as accused, suo moto impleaded and ordered notice.”

Responding to the HC decision, CM Vijayan told reporters, “Let (the notice) come. You don’t need to worry about it.”

Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan said that the crores of rupees paid by CMRL to the CM’s daughter was a part of converting black money into white. “Still, why is the Enforcement Directorate not investigating? It’s because of Pinarayi Vijayan’s secret bond with the BJP that the Lavlin case has been deferred 38 times now. The ED, which investigates Congress chief ministers, does not probe Pinarayi Vijayan. Why?” he asked.

Last month, the HC had appointed advocate Akhil Mohan as the amicus curiae to assist it in the case following the demise of the original petitioner Gireesh Babu in September.

The case pertains to suspicious payments to the tune of ₹1.73 crore over three years by CMRL to Veena and her IT consultancy firm Exalogica Solutions Limited despite the latter not rendering any services. On June 12, the Income Tax Interim Settlement Board had ruled that the payments could not be considered as “business expenses” as the services were not rendered by Veena’s firm.

The allegations against the leaders came to light after Income Tax raids at the home of CMRL chief financial officer Suresh Kumar in 2019 had retrieved notes from his home with initials like ‘PV’, ‘OC’, ‘RC’, ‘KK’ and ‘IK’ which purportedly refer to payments made to prominent politicians in return for ensuring smooth functioning of the business.