SC verdict on Pinarayi Vijayan gives neither CPI(M) nor Congress reason to celebrate, says BJP

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 21 (IANS) BJP National Secretary, K. Surendran, on Wednesday said the Supreme Court’s order in the CMRL-Exalogic case gave neither the CPI(M) any reason to celebrate nor the Congress any reason to gloat, asserting that the court had neither quashed the FIRs against former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his family nor granted them any special concession.

“The court has merely allowed one week for the accused to present their arguments. That is all,” Surendran said, reacting to the Supreme Court’s decision to stay the Vigilance investigation for seven days to enable Vijayan, his daughter Veena T and son-in-law P.A. Mohammed Riyas to pursue an appeal before a Division Bench of the Kerala High Court.

Surendran said the Supreme Court’s sharp question to the state government on why it had not registered an FIR earlier strengthened the argument that the government was attempting to sabotage the case.

The law must take its own course and those who had committed offences would have to face the law, he said.

Meanwhile, Congress leader and Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala maintained that the Supreme Court verdict vindicated the state government’s initial approach to the case.

Chennithala said the government and the Home Department had acted correctly by examining the Enforcement Directorate’s communication carefully and ordering a preliminary enquiry instead of rushing to register an FIR.

The government was subsequently compelled to register the FIR after the Kerala High Court’s single judge directed it to do so without a preliminary enquiry, he said.

The fact that the Supreme Court had not ordered the cancellation of the FIR showed that the state government’s action was legally valid, Chennithala argued.

The one week stay was only to enable the accused to present their arguments before the High Court Division Bench, he added.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday permitted Vijayan and the other petitioners to challenge the single judge’s October 9 order directing the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau to register an FIR on the basis of information supplied by the ED.

The apex court set aside the Division Bench’s earlier refusal to grant them leave to appeal and stayed further investigation for seven days.

The case concerns alleged payments by Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited to Exalogic Solutions, a now defunct company associated with Veena.

The allegations are being contested, and the Supreme Court clarified that its observations were confined to the petitioners’ right to appeal and did not address the merits of the case.

The High Court Division Bench will now consider the appeal and any request for interim relief in accordance with law.

–IANS

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