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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued summons to former Kerala Chief Minister and current Leader of Opposition in Keralam Assembly, Pinarayi Vijayan, asking him to appear at its Kochi office on October 23 in connection with an ongoing money laundering case, officials said on Friday.
The development comes amid legal proceedings in the alleged Rs 278-crore CMRL-Exalogic case, involving alleged financial transactions between Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) and Exalogic Solutions, a now-defunct firm formerly run by Vijayan's daughter, Veena T. On Friday, the Supreme Court declined to take up an urgent plea filed by Vijayan seeking protection from arrest and other coercive action in connection with the case, despite his apprehension of imminent arrest. Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for Vijayan, told a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant that the 82-year-old leader faced the possibility of arrest and sought urgent protection. The Chief Justice said the court would explore the possibility of constituting a special bench during the upcoming Dussehra vacation, subject to the availability of judges. If that was not possible, the matter would be listed on October 26. The Supreme Court is scheduled to resume regular functioning on October 26 after the Dussehra break. Vijayan had challenged the Kerala High Court's order directing the registration of an FIR in the case. On Thursday, a division bench of the High Court dismissed appeals filed by Vijayan, his daughter Veena T and his son-in-law, former minister PA Mohamed Riyas, against the single-judge order. The single-judge bench had, on October 9, directed the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) to initiate a criminal case following a report forwarded by the ED to the police. The ED had sought the registration of a case based on material collected during its probe, including searches conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The allegations concern payments made by CMRL and an associate concern to Exalogic Solutions. The agency alleged that CMRL improperly transferred Rs 2.78 crore to Exalogic by portraying the payments as fees for IT consultancy services. The allegations are under investigation. (ANI)
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