Delhi High Court refuses to stay ongoing probe by SFIO into IT firm of Kerala CM Vijayan's daughter

New Delhi/Thiruvananthapuram, April 3 (IANS) A week after the Kerala High Court dismissed two pleas seeking a probe by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Department into the allegations that IT firm Exalogic of Veena Vijayan, the daughter of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, got a monthly gratification from Kochi-based Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL), for mining sanctions, the Delhi High Court on Thursday refused the mining firm's petition seeking to stay the ongoing SFIO investigation.

As this case came up in the Delhi High Court on Thursday, it was heard by a new bench as the judge, who was hearing the case till now, has been transferred to the Allahabad High Court.

While the new judge pointed out that he will hear the matter afresh, the counsel for the CMRL sought to stay all proceedings in the case.

This was strongly objected to by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), which pointed out its probe is in its final stages.

Following this, the judge refused a stay as sought by the CMRL.

Kerala BJP leader Shaun George, who is also a party in the case, said now with the stay getting rejected, the SFIO can go forward with their work.

"The probe will go forward without any hitch. Once the Ministry of Corporate Affairs gives prosecution sanction, the SFIO can then file their complaint in the special court," George said.

The SFIO has all along maintained in the Delhi High Court that the payment made by the mining company CMRL to Exalogic constituted corruption and that the payment was made to ensure smooth operations for the CMRL.

In the Kerala High Court, the same case was brought by Congress legislator Mathew Kuzhalnadan and another person, seeking a Vigilance probe, but the court informed the petitioner that with the present set of evidence produced before the court, it cannot give an order and told him that if he desires, he can return with more authentic evidence.

But in the Delhi High Court, it was the CMRL which approached with a plea that the SFIO probe should be quashed.

This issue first surfaced when an Income Tax Settlement Board statement pointed out that Exalogic received Rs 1.72 crore from the CMRL, and it was illegal gratification, and there was no service the IT firm had provided.

Incidentally, two petitions, filed earlier in the Kerala High Court and the other in the Karnataka High Court, challenging the SFIO investigation into the CMRL-Exalogic transactions, were dismissed.

The only relief that Pinarayi Vijayan and his daughter have so far received is when, last week, the Kerala High Court refused a Vigilance probe.

--IANS

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