Kerala High Court rejects plea for probe into corruption allegations against CM Pinarayi Vijayan

The Kerala High Court on Friday dismissed two petitions seeking a probe into allegations of bribery and misuse of power by high-ranking public officials in Kerala including State Chief Minister (CM) Pinarayi Vijayan and his daughter Veena Thaikkandiyil [Dr. Mathew A Kuzhalnadan v. Pinarayi Vijayan & Ors.] [Gireesh Babu v. State of Kerala & Ors.]..Justice K Babu dismissed the petitions this afternoon.The allegations of corruption were made in connection with the mining and other business interests of Cochin Mineral and Rutile Ltd. (CMRL). The order passed today was on two criminal revision petitions, one filed by Congress Member of Legislative Assembly Mathew Kuzhalnadan and another by Gireesh Babu, challenging two orders passed by a vigilance court rejecting a plea for a probe into the allegations.They approached the High Court after a vigilance court rejected their complaints. The High Court today upheld the vigilance court's decision, but quashed an observation made by it that Kuzhalnadan's complaint was politically motivated. "The observation was unwarranted and stands quashed," the High Court said today. .Both petitions before the vigilance court were filed in the wake of a report by the Income Tax Department, which allegedly revealed that several bogus payments were made by CMRL to Exalogic and Thaikkandiyil under the pretext of availing IT and marketing-related services.Neither Exalogic nor Thaikkandiyil had provided any service to CMRL but were given ₹1.72 crores, which was received by CM Vijayan, the complaints alleged..Kuzhalnadan, in his petition, alleged that CMRL was also engaged in illegal mining with the support of the CM. He added that this was evident from the bypassing of relevant statutes and orders of the Central government.Interestingly, he further alleged that the 2018 floods, which had ravaged the State, was a man-made disaster that allowed the removal of huge quantities of sand from which minerals could be extracted..Babu, in his petition, alleged that high-ranking public officials including the CM, the Leader of Opposition and Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, and other politicians such as Kunjali Kutty, VK Ibrahim Kunju and A Govindan also received bribes from CMRL.All of these persons were arraigned as accused in Babu's petition.In August 2023, the vigilance court dismissed the complaint filed by Babu. In January 2024, the complaint filed by Kuzhalnadan was also dismissed. .This prompted them to file revision petitions before the High Court, contending that the vigilance court did not appreciate their complaints in their entirety. There was a prima facie case to establish the offences of corruption, they asserted. Kuzhalnadan contended that the vigilance court's rejection of the complaint violated the procedure laid out in the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which in turn renders the order illegal.He argued that his complaint could not have been rejected at the threshold and at best could have been dismissed after examining the complaint and any witnesses..Babu, meanwhile, re-asserted that all the accused persons misused their official position and also caused a loss in public revenue. Kuzhalnadan had requested the High Court to set aside the order of the vigilance court and remand the original complaint for fresh consideration.Babu urged the Court to set aside the vigilance court order and to direct a probe by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau against the accused persons including the Chief Minister and his daughter. .Kuzhalnadan was represented by advocates Bincy Job, Kuriakose Varghese, V Shyamohan, Sradhaxna Mudrika and Kaveri Mohan.Babu was represented by advocates BA Aloor, Archana Suresh, Sunitha KG, Ailin Elezabath Mathew, Dhanya K and KP Prasanth.Advocate Akhil Vijay assisted the Court as amicus curiae in Babu's case..[Read Order]