Pinarayi Vijayan CMRL case: High Court refuses leave to appeal, but FIR challenge stays open
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On 15 October a Kerala High Court bench dismissed pleas by the former chief minister, his daughter and son-in-law. Why they needed 'leave' at all, and the dated path from ED raids in May to two FIRs in October.
Original report
What is the latest in the Pinarayi Vijayan CMRL case? On Thursday 15 October 2026, a Kerala High Court Division Bench dismissed applications by the former chief minister, his daughter T. Veena and her husband P.A. Mohammed Riyas for leave to appeal a 9 October order directing an FIR against them, The Hindu reported (The Hindu, 2026). The bench held that the order had not affected their right to pursue constitutional or statutory remedies against registration of the FIR (The Hindu, 2026).
So the three cannot appeal the order through this route, but they can still challenge the FIRs themselves (The Hindu, 2026). An FIR records allegations; no court has ruled on them.
Why they needed 'leave' to appeal
The three had to ask permission to appeal because they were not parties to the original petition, Onmanorama reported (Onmanorama, 2026b). That petition was filed by activist K.M. Shajahan, so the three came to the case as third parties (Onmanorama, 2026b).
A writ appeal by a third party can proceed only after leave is granted (Onmanorama, 2026b). They filed their leave petitions on 12 October (Onmanorama, 2026b). "We have to challenge this order, and a writ appeal is the route," their advocate, Gilbert George Correya, said then (Onmanorama, 2026b).
Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act was referred to in the arguments, Onmanorama reported (Onmanorama, 2026b). The Enforcement Directorate told the court the accused had no right to be heard at this stage (Onmanorama, 2026a).
The state took a different line. Advocate General K. Jaju Babu said the state was only conducting a preliminary inquiry on information from the ED, and argued the writ petition should have been filed as a public interest litigation (The Hindu, 2026).
The leave question came at the end of a five-month sequence.
From raids to FIRs: the timeline
- 27 May 2026: the High Court dismissed CMRL's plea; the same day the ED raided 10 premises, including the homes of Vijayan and Riyas (Onmanorama, 2026c).
- 9 October: a Single Judge directed the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) to register cases, on Shajahan's petition (The Hindu, 2026; Onmanorama, 2026b).
- 12 October: the VACB registered two FIRs under the Prevention of Corruption Act, and the three filed leave petitions (Onmanorama, 2026b).
- 13 October: a Division Bench refused an interim stay and reserved its verdict on WA 2121/2026 and WA 2122/2026 (Onmanorama, 2026a; LiveLaw, 2026).
- 15 October: the same bench dismissed the leave applications (The Hindu, 2026).
The Hindu dates the reserved verdict to Wednesday 14 October, while Onmanorama and LiveLaw report it on 13 October (The Hindu, 2026; Onmanorama, 2026a; LiveLaw, 2026).
The bench in both hearings was Justice K. Natarajan and Justice Johnson John (LiveLaw, 2026; The Hindu, 2026).
Behind the dates is a money trail that two agencies examined.
What the CMRL case is about
The case concerns alleged payments by CMRL, Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd, to Exalogic Solutions, the firm run by Veena (Onmanorama, 2026c). The Hindu describes it as a Rs 278-crore CMRL-Exalogic payoff case (The Hindu, 2026).
In 2023, the Income Tax Interim Settlement Board found that Veena and Exalogic received monthly payments from CMRL with no evidence of services, The Hindu reported (The Hindu, 2026). The Serious Fraud Investigation Office found fictitious cash expenses of about Rs 182 crore over 15 years (The Hindu, 2026). Spread evenly, that would be roughly Rs 12 crore a year (182 divided by 15), though the reports do not give a yearly breakdown.
These are findings by tax and investigating bodies, not a court verdict.
The people at the centre
- Pinarayi Vijayan: former Kerala chief minister and now Leader of the Opposition, named in the FIR (Onmanorama, 2026b).
- T. Veena: his daughter, linked to Exalogic Solutions (Onmanorama, 2026c).
- P.A. Mohammed Riyas: her husband, an MLA and former PWD minister (Onmanorama, 2026b; Onmanorama, 2026c).
After the May raids, Riyas said: "I will fight till my last breath" (Onmanorama, 2026c).
What the court did not decide
The 15 October ruling does not decide whether the FIRs are valid or whether anyone is guilty (The Hindu, 2026). It decided only that the three could not appeal the Single Judge's order as third parties, and it said their remedies against the FIR remain open (The Hindu, 2026).
What we don't know yet
- Whether Vijayan, Veena and Riyas will now challenge the FIRs directly.
- The next legal step; none has been announced.
- The exact date the verdict was reserved: sources differ between 13 and 14 October.
Questions people are asking
What is the CMRL case?
It concerns alleged payments by Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd to Veena's firm Exalogic Solutions; the ED raided 10 premises on 27 May 2026 (Onmanorama, 2026c).
Has an FIR been registered against Pinarayi Vijayan?
Yes. The VACB registered two FIRs under the Prevention of Corruption Act on 12 October 2026 (Onmanorama, 2026b).
Is the FIR stayed?
No. The High Court refused an interim stay (Onmanorama, 2026a).
How much money is involved in the CMRL case?
The Hindu puts it at Rs 278 crore; the SFIO flagged about Rs 182 crore in fictitious cash expenses over 15 years (The Hindu, 2026).
References
- LiveLaw (2026) CMRL-Exalogic Case: Kerala High Court Refuses To Stay Order For Vigilance FIR. LiveLaw. Available at: CMRL-Exalogic Case: Kerala High Court Refuses To Stay Order For Vigilance FIR (Accessed: 15 October 2026).
- Onmanorama (2026a) CMRL case: No interim stay on Vigilance FIR, HC reserves verdict on appeals. Onmanorama. Available at: CMRL case: No interim stay on Vigilance FIR, HC reserves verdict on appeals (Accessed: 15 October 2026).
- Onmanorama (2026b) CMRL payoff case: Pinarayi, Veena, Riyas move HC against single bench order directing FIR. Onmanorama. Available at: CMRL payoff case: Pinarayi, Veena, Riyas move HC against single bench order directing FIR (Accessed: 15 October 2026).
- Onmanorama (2026c) ED raids residences of Pinarayi Vijayan, Mohammed Riyas after HC rejects CMRL's plea. Onmanorama. Available at: ED raids residences of Pinarayi Vijayan, Mohammed Riyas after HC rejects CMRL's plea (Accessed: 15 October 2026).
- The Hindu (2026) CMRL payoff case: Setback for Pinarayi Vijayan, kin as Kerala HC dismisses pleas to appeal against FIR order. The Hindu. Available at: CMRL payoff case: Setback for Pinarayi Vijayan, kin as Kerala HC dismisses pleas to appeal against FIR order (Accessed: 15 October 2026).
How we did this
We compared The Hindu's report of the 15 October ruling with Onmanorama's report of the 13 October hearing. Between them they covered the ruling, the arguments, the bench and the case's size, but neither laid out the full sequence from the May raids to the FIRs, or explained why the three needed leave to appeal at all. We built that timeline from Onmanorama's earlier reports and added the case numbers from LiveLaw. Where the sources disagree on a date, we say so.
This story was produced, reviewed, edited and verified by the reporter before publication, with AI assistance where required.
Covered by 18 outlets across the spectrum: 39% left, 39% center, 22% right.
Who is covering this story
- Left-leaning (2): The Hindu, The New Indian Express
- Center (3): Onmanorama, Livelaw, The Hindu BusinessLine
- Right-leaning (4): India Today, Deccan Chronicle, Times of India, Times Now
Sources
- Pinarayi Vijayan, others left with two legal options after Kerala HC dismisses their writ appeals in CMRL payoff case — The Hindu (left-leaning) ·
- Kerala High Court rejects Vijayan family's challenge to CMRL bribery FIR — India Today (right-leaning) ·
- CMRL payoff case: Pinarayi Vijayan, Veena & Riyas move Kerala HC against FIR order — Onmanorama (center) ·
- CMRL-Exalogic Case: Kerala High Court Refuses To Stay Order For Vigilance FIR Against Pinarayi Vijayan, Kin — Livelaw (center) ·
- ED raids residences of Pinarayi Vijayan, Mohammed Riyas after HC rejects CMRL's plea — Onmanorama (center) ·
- CMRL case: No interim stay on Vigilance FIR against Pinarayi,Veena & Riyas, HC reserves verdict on appeals — Onmanorama (center) ·
- CMRL payoff case: Setback for Pinarayi Vijayan, kin as Kerala HC dismisses pleas to appeal against FIR order — The Hindu (left-leaning) ·
- Pinarayi Vijayan Moves SC Against FIR in CMRL Bribery Case — Deccan Chronicle (right-leaning) ·
- Pinarayi Vijayan moves SC against HC order to lodge FIR in CMRL bribery case — The Hindu (left-leaning) ·
- Pinarayi Vijayan moves Supreme Court challenging Kerala HC order to lodge FIR in alleged CMRL bribery case — The New Indian Express (left-leaning) ·
- Ex Keralam CM fears arrest in CMRL payoff case; SC may hear in Dussehra holidays — The Hindu BusinessLine (center) ·
- Vigilance to file FIR against Pinarayi, others in CMRL-Exalogic pay-off case: Keralam Home Minister Chennithala — The Hindu (left-leaning) ·
- 35 years on, FIR against 12 retired cops for ‘fake encounter’ in Kanpur — Times of India (right-leaning) ·
- CMRL-Exalogic case: Supreme Court to hear Pinarayi Vijayan’s plea on Wednesday — The Hindu BusinessLine (center) ·
- Big Relief For Pinarayi Vijayan, SC Halts CMRL Investigation For 7 Days — Times Now (right-leaning) ·
- CMRL bribery case: SC stays for a week probe against former Keralam CM Pinarayi Vijayan, others — The Hindu BusinessLine (center) ·
- CMRL-Exalogic payoff case: Ex-Keralam CM Pinarayi Vijayan to skip questioning by ED on October 23 — The Hindu (left-leaning) ·
- Keralam Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan files appeal before Kerala HC, challenging Single Judge order in CMRL-Exalogic pay-off case — The Hindu (left-leaning) ·