New Delhi: The Delhi High Court will today consider a petition filed by CMRL seeking a stay on further proceedings by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) in the financial transaction case involving Chief Minister’s daughter Veena’s company, Exalogic. The petition comes just as the trial is about to begin in a Kochi court.
A key point of today’s hearing is whether the court will issue a notice and stay the ongoing proceedings. The petition argues that no trial should begin without the permission of the High Court. It also requests the Centre to clarify whether the SFIO has submitted its final investigation report and whether the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has granted prosecution sanction. Additionally, the petition calls for an investigation into officials responsible for leaking information to the media before the report was formally submitted to the court.
The Delhi High Court had earlier agreed to re-hear CMRL’s petition challenging the SFIO probe. Meanwhile, the noose is tightening around Veena Vijayan, daughter of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in the financial fraud case involving CMRL. The SFIO is reportedly preparing to file another chargesheet in the case related to alleged loan fraud. A decision is expected soon from the Ernakulam court regarding the acceptance of the existing SFIO chargesheet.
The petition insists that trial proceedings must not commence without the High Court’s approval, and seeks directives to the central government to clarify the status of the SFIO’s final report and prosecution sanction. It also demands an inquiry into the leak of investigation details to the media prior to official court submission.
