Only hours after the Delhi High Court refused to halt the Serious Fraud Investigation Office's (SFIO) investigation of the suspected monthly payments to Veena Vijayan's since-closed IT company by Kochi-based Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL) in return for favorable mining clearances, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan expressed his irritation at the continued questions from the media on the issue.
"You (media) want my blood, but will not get it easily. See, I have said many times now, that since the matter is in the court, let it finish," Vijayan said, obviously attempting to keep his cool while answering repeated questions from reporters.
The Chief Minister, appearing in front of the media after a long hiatus, appeared visibly upset at the persistence of the media to inquire about the financial transactions of his daughter's closed-down company.
"All this is happening because it's me. Our party has spoken the same thing as well. So if you have any other question apart from this, I will say," he added.
Earlier in the day, at a hearing in the Delhi High Court, Justice Girish Kathpalia was told by the SFIO's lawyer that a charge sheet had already been filed at a Kochi court regarding the alleged financial malpractices. Hearing this, the judge told the bench that no action was required from the bench. But just as the case was ready to be closed, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for petitioner CMRL, pointed out that during a previous hearing before Justice Subramaniom Prasad, the SFIO had orally assured the court of stopping further proceedings.
In reaction, the court observed that no such assurance was on record in the case files. Nevertheless, having regard to Sibal's submission, it ordered the matter to be re-heard before Justice Prasad on April 22, the same judge whom Sibal alleged had been orally assured by the SFIO.
With the court refusing to grant a stay, Veena Vijayan's legal woes could worsen. The Enforcement Directorate already has the SFIO's charge sheet filed in Kochi, which may clear the way for further proceedings.
Reacting to the court's ruling, Kerala BJP leader Shaun George — who was also a litigant in the case — said that the ED is now free to act on the conclusions in the charge sheet, which included evidence of foreign financial transactions, as reported.
During the proceedings, the SFIO has insisted that the payments by CMRL to Exalogic, Veena's IT company, were corrupt acts intended to ensure seamless operations for the company. The probe is based on a previous revelation by the Income Tax Settlement Board, which identified the payments as unlawful and stated that Exalogic had not provided any services in return.
Interestingly, efforts to stifle the SFIO investigation through petitions in the Kerala and Karnataka High Courts were earlier unsuccessful, with both the courts rejecting the challenges.
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