Kerala High Court to rule on corruption enquiry legality

The Kerala High Court is set to determine whether the state government acted correctly by conducting a preliminary enquiry instead of registering a First Information Report (FIR) following communications from the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The case involves allegations of offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act in the CMRL-Exalogic payoff matter. The legal challenge seeks the registration of an FIR against Leader of Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter Veena, and son-in-law Mohammed Riyas.

A central legal question for the court is whether, upon receiving information under Section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the State police are obligated to register an FIR for scheduled offences or if they maintain the option to conduct a preliminary enquiry first. The ED has indicated it will provide information in a sealed cover during the next hearing.