Vijayan declines ED summons citing Supreme Court order; ED probe not stayed

Pinarayi Vijayan has declined to appear before the ED on October 23. The agency plans another summons after the High Court division bench considers the appeal.

In Short

• The case concerns alleged payments by Cochin Mineral and Rutile Limited
• Police chose a preliminary inquiry instead of immediately registering an FIR
• The High Court later ordered vigilance officials to register a case

Leader of Opposition in the Keralam Assembly Pinarayi Vijayan will not appear before the Enforcement Directorate on October 23 for questioning over alleged payments by Cochin Mineral and Rutile Limited, sources told news agency Press Trust of India.

The ED had summoned Vijayan to its Kochi office as part of its investigation. He has informed the agency that he will not appear following a Supreme Court interim order staying the investigation against him, his daughter Veena T and son-in-law P A Mohamed Riyas, according to sources.

Vijayan has also cited the Keralam Assembly session, which is scheduled to resume on October 26 after a week-long recess, the sources said.

In September, the ED wrote to the state police seeking the registration of an FIR against Vijayan and his family. The request was based on evidence gathered during its investigation into alleged payments by CMRL and searches conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

Instead of registering a case, the state police decided to conduct a preliminary inquiry based on the ED's report.

On October 9, the Kerala High Court directed the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau to register a case based on the ED report submitted to the state police.

Two FIRs were subsequently registered, after which the ED began separate investigations under the PMLA against Vijayan and his family.

On October 15, the High Court rejected applications filed by Vijayan, Veena and Riyas seeking permission to appeal against the single judge's order.

They then approached the Supreme Court, which stayed the VACB investigation for a week and directed them to pursue an appeal before a division bench of the High Court. The Supreme Court, however, did not stay the ED investigation.

ED sources told PTI that the agency will issue a fresh summons to Vijayan after the division bench considers the appeal.

According to the VACB FIR, Vijayan allegedly misused his official position and adopted corrupt and illegal means to secure financial benefits for himself, his daughter and her company.

The FIR alleges that Veena and her now-defunct company, Exalogic Solutions, received Rs 3.28 crore from CMRL and Empower India Capital Investments Pvt Ltd through their bank accounts under the guise of information technology consultancy and marketing services.

Vijayan has declined to appear before the ED for now, citing the Supreme Court's interim order and the upcoming Assembly session, while the agency plans to summon him again after the High Court division bench considers the appeal.

- Ends