CMRL Pay-Off Case: Kerala HC Issues Notices to CM Pinarayi Vijayan & his Daughter

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday directed Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to respond to Congress MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan’s plea for an investigation into alleged financial transactions between his daughter’s now defunct IT firm and a private mining company.

A single bench of Justice K Babu also issued notices to Vijayan’s daughter Veena, her defunct firm, and the mining company, seeking their responses on the MLA’s revision petition.

Vigilance Court’s Decision

Mathew Kuzhalnadan approached the high court after a vigilance court dismissed his request for an inquiry against Vijayan regarding the financial dealings between the private mining company and his daughter T Veena’s firm.

The vigilance court concluded that the complaint lacked essential facts constituting corruption. Initially, Kuzhalnadan approached the Special Vigilance Court, claiming that the Vigilance Department had refused to investigate financial transactions between Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL) and Veena’s company, Exalogic. Later, he sought a court-monitored investigation into these transactions.

“The allegations in the complaint, even if accepted at face value, do not amount to the alleged offence. The accusations of corruption stem from suspicions and doubts raised by the complainant. However, suspicions and doubts alone do not constitute factual allegations of an offence,” observed the vigilance court.

Political Backlash and Media Reports

The Congress has been targeting the chief minister, his daughter, and the CPI(M) following a report in a Malayalam daily claiming that CMRL paid Rs 1.72 crore to Vijayan’s daughter between 2017 and 2020. According to the report, an interim board for settlement ruled on the payments, stating that CMRL had a previous agreement with Veena’s IT firm for consulting and software support services. Allegations also surfaced that payments were made monthly to her firm despite no services being rendered, purportedly due to her relationship with a prominent individual.

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