The Kerala High Court’s Division Bench is scheduled to consider at 1.45 pm on Tuesday the pleas filed by Opposition Leader and former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter T Veena, and son-in-law and MLA P A Mohammed Riyas, seeking permission to challenge a Single Bench order directing the registration of cases against them in the CMRL pay-off case.
The three have filed separate petitions seeking “leave to appeal”, their counsel, Advocate Gilbert George Correya, told Onmanorama. As they were not parties to the original petition filed by activist K M Shajahan, they require the Division Bench’s permission before their appeals can be considered on merit. Although the writ appeals have already been filed, they can proceed only if the court grants leave to appeal.
Gold 101.3 FM, the UAE’s No. 1 Radio Station, brings you the latest developments in this high-profile legal case from Kerala.
The legal challenge follows a Single Bench order directing the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) to register cases against Vijayan and his family under the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA). The court relied on findings and materials forwarded by the Enforcement Directorate, observing that they prima facie disclosed an offence.
The Single Bench also held that a preliminary inquiry and prior government sanction under Section 17A of the PCA were not necessary in the circumstances. It further set aside an earlier state police order constituting a Special Investigation Team without sanction.
Following the ruling, the VACB registered two FIRs on Monday against Vijayan, Veena, Riyas and others.
Challenging the order, the petitioners’ counsel has argued that directing the registration of FIRs against individuals who were not parties to the original proceedings, without giving them an opportunity to be heard, violates the principles of natural justice.
The Division Bench’s consideration of the leave-to-appeal petitions will determine whether the three can proceed with their challenges against the Single Bench order. The case centres on the legality of the directions to register cases and the procedural grounds raised by the petitioners.
