The Kerala High Court on Friday (October 9, 2026) directed the Director of the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) to file an FIR against former Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter T Veena, his son-in-law P.A. Muhammed Riyas, and others under the Prevention of Corruption Act. A Bench of Justice A. Badharudeen passed the order on a petition filed by advocate K. M. Shajahan.
The Kerala Home Department had argued before the court that a preliminary investigation by the Crime Branch was sufficient and that registering an FIR was not legally mandatory. The High Court did not accept the argument and set aside the Kerala government’s decision to form a Special Investigation Team and conduct a preliminary investigation without registering an FIR. The court noted that the offences fall under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (PC Act) and therefore, the VACB is the competent authority to investigate the matter.
“It is specifically ordered that the DGP or the head of the Special Investigation Team, having custody of the information under Section 66(2) of the PMLA, shall hand over the same to the [VACB Director], forthwith, and the [VACB Director] shall obtain the same for the purpose of registering an FIR, without fail, and proceed further, in accordance with law. In this connection, the E.D. is directed to forward all necessary documents to the [VACB Director],” the Court said, adding that no further inquiry is needed to lodge an FIR.
The court said that the evidence submitted by the ED was enough for the state authorities to proceed with filing an FIR without counting on prolonged preliminary inquiries. “…Thus, in the facts and circumstances of this case, no further enquiry is required in the instant case, and the matters disclosed in the information under Section 66(2) of the PMLA make it obligatory for the State Police to register the FIR, ruling out the scope of any other enquiry,” the Court stated.
The case stems from financial transactions between private mining firm Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited and an IT company, Exalogic Solutions, owned by T Veena, that took place during Pinarayi Vijayan’s first term as the Chief Minister. Enforcement Directorate (ED), which has been probing the case, revealed that Exalogic Solutions received monthly payouts amounting to crores of rupees for services that were never provided. The agency found that illegal transfers of money were made, including ₹85 lakh moved abroad and over ₹20 crore distributed locally.
The central agency said that CMRL paid Exalogic Solutions ₹2.78 crore under the pretext of IT consultancy fees when the firm did not provide any services. The ED conducted raids at Vijayan’s premises and eight premises linked to local CPI(M) leaders in Kozhikode district in May. During the searches, the agency found evidence of money transfers through hawala routes. ED told the Kerala Police that Vijayan received ₹3.28 crore from CMRL as a bribe through his daughter. The agency said that CMRL’s former chief financial officer admitted that Riyas helped transfer the money to Dubai through Veena and others.
The ED handed over the relevant documentary evidence and financial records to the state authorities and recommended filing an FIR against Vijayan and others. However, the Kerala Police did not register an FIR and instead formed an SIT headed by Crime Branch Additional Director General of Police H Venkatesh to conduct a preliminary enquiry.
This led to the present petition being filed before the High Court. The petitioner argued that the central agency had submitted sufficient evidence to the Kerala Police to indicate commission of offences under the PC Act and PMLA by Vijayan, his daughter and son-in-law. Therefore, the police should lodge an FIR against the accused. The High Court agreed with the petitioner and ordered the filing of the FIR, allowing the petition.
