No SIT in monthly payoff case: HC quashes order in a major setback for Kerala govt

KOCHI: The Kerala High Court quashed the state government’s order forming a Special Investigation Team (SIT) in the CMRL-Exalogic case. The court pointed that conducting a preliminary investigation in a case where no FIR has been registered, is illegal. The high court instructed the vigilance director to register an FIR in the case. The court clarified that the report submitted by the Enforcement Directorate under Sections 62 and 66 is sufficient to register a case for offenses under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

In the monthly payoff case, the government had earlier reached an understanding that a preliminary investigation would be sufficient if truth was found in the allegations. However, with the high court now clarifying that a case can be registered, an FIR is likely to be filed soon against former chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and former public works minister Mohamed Riyas. The court verdict supports ED’s stand that it is not possible to proceed under the Prevention of Corruption Act without registering an FIR.

The court clarified that the vigilance’ stand of registering an FIR only after conducting a preliminary investigation cannot be accepted. The ED had informed the court that sufficient evidence, witness statements, and diary entries were available. The ED had informed the court that an FIR could be registered directly on the basis of the diary entries. However, the government argued against registering an FIR, citing various Supreme Court orders. With the high court verdict, the vigilance will have to register an FIR against Pinarayi and Riyas along with conducting the preliminary investigation.