Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday reserved its judgment on a plea which contended that the police should register an FIR in the CMRL bribery case instead of conducting a preliminary inquiry.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) told the High Court that a First Information Report (FIR) could be registered based on the report it had submitted to the state police seeking registration of a case under the anti-graft law against former Keralam Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and others in connection with the alleged CMRL bribery case.
The contention was opposed by the state government, which claimed that the report submitted by the agency was not sufficient to register an FIR and that a preliminary inquiry was required.
The state government claimed that the report did not contain the statements recorded by the ED in support of its allegations against Vijayan, his daughter Veena T and her husband (former minister) P A Mohamed Riyas.
Advocate Jaishankar Nair, appearing for the agency, told the court that the state police had not sought the statements.
He argued that the Enforcement Directorate report could be treated as a preliminary inquiry report and that an FIR could be registered based on it.
After hearing both sides, Justice A Badharudeen reserved his judgment on a plea by advocate K M Shajahan, who contended that the police should register an FIR rather than conduct a preliminary inquiry.
The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government in Keralam recently ordered a police inquiry based on the ED's letter to the State Police Chief seeking a probe against Vijayan, Veena and Riyas.
The ED has sought registration of a case based on "evidence" gathered during its probe and searches conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The agency has alleged that Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) made fraudulent payments of Rs 2.78 crore to Veena's now-defunct company Exalogic Solutions under the guise of "IT consultancy services."