A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court granted an interim stay on a Single Judge directive that had ordered the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau to register a first information report against former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and members of his family. The underlying matter relates to controversial financial transactions between private mining company Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited and Exalogic Solutions, an IT enterprise founded by Vijayan’s daughter.
The appellate bench intervened after senior counsel representing the former Chief Minister challenged the procedural validity of the single-judge order, arguing that it violated statutory safeguards mandated under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The defense submitted that initiating a criminal inquiry against public servants without mandatory prior sanction from competent authorities runs contrary to established procedural law.
The stay order halts immediate investigative steps by state anti-corruption authorities while the High Court examines the threshold legal question of whether private commercial consultancy payments can be subjected to criminal proceedings absent demonstrable abuse of official position. The matter has been posted for detailed hearings next month.
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Sources:
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/cmrl-pay-off-case-kerala-hc-stays-order-to-lodge-fir-against-ex-keralam-cm-pinarayi-kin/article71626592.ece/amp/