Kochi: A division bench of the Kerala High Court has stayed investigation into the alleged CMRL Exalogic bribery case involving former Keralam Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his kin. The High Court has stayed further investigation for a period of four weeks.
Receiving the appeals filed by Vijayan, his daughter Veena T and her husband P A Mohamed Riyas in file, the High Court also sent notices to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB).
The bench ordered that no further action should be taken in the First Information Report (FIR) filed in the case. The order has also stayed the directive of a single judge bench in the case.
The stay by the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court on October 21 stayed for a week the investigation into the alleged bribery case.
A bench of Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana allowed Vijayan and the others to approach a division bench of the Kerala High Court challenging a single judge's order directing the registration of a case.
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The CMRL Exalogic case
On October 9, the Kerala High Court directed the VACB to register a case based on a report submitted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to the state police.
The ED had sought the registration of a case based on evidence gathered during its investigation and searches conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
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.
(With inputs from PTI)
