Plea flags Rs 1.7 crore paid to CM daughter without service

KOCHI: Kerala HC issued Wednesday notices to chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter T Veena, and others in a PIL seeking a CBI inquiry into alleged financial dealings between Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd and Veena’s firm Exalogic Solutions Pvt Ltd. The next hearing is scheduled for May 27.

Before admitting the petition, the HC division bench of judges Amit Rawal and P M Manoj directed the central government to submit in a sealed cover a list of people named in the interim settlement board's order under the Income Tax department related to the transactions involving Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL).

The plea was filed by senior journalist M R Ajayan, who also sought an inquiry into alleged political connections between the companies and CM Pinarayi Vijayan. Ajayan's plea relies on findings by the interim settlement board, which said that over Rs 1.7 crore paid to CM's dughter Veena between 2017-18 and 2019-20 did not qualify as a business expenditure.

A CMRL official had allegedly told the board that no services were provided by Exalogic despite the payments.

Additional solicitor general ARL Sundaresan informed Kerala high court that the serious fraud investigation office had completed its probe and submitted a report to the special court, which has already taken cognisance of the offence. The division bench said a single bench had issued an interim order maintaining status quo in a related matter.