ED summons former Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan for questioning on 23 October
The Enforcement Directorate has asked Pinarayi Vijayan to appear at its Kochi office on 23 October in the CMRL-Exalogic case, hours after the Supreme Court did not grant an urgent hearing.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to appear at its zonal office in Kochi on 23 October 2026 in connection with the alleged Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL)-Exalogic payments, according to Hindustan Times and The Indian Express. The Indian Express reported that the summons came hours after the Supreme Court declined an urgent hearing on his plea against a Kerala High Court order for an FIR. Hindustan Times, citing officials familiar with the matter, said it is the first time the agency has summoned him in the case.
What the reports say
The Indian Express reported that the ED registered two Enforcement Case Information Reports, its equivalent of an FIR, against Mr Vijayan and members of his family under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, a day after the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) registered its own FIRs. It also reported that the ED raided several premises linked to Mr Vijayan in May and allegedly recovered documents indicating a money trail. The reports reviewed do not include a statement from the ED on the summons.
According to Hindustan Times, Mr Vijayan is named as the first accused in one VACB FIR and former minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas in the other; Mr Vijayan’s daughter, T. Veena, is the second accused in both. The FIRs allege that Exalogic Solutions, Ms Veena’s now-defunct firm, received ₹3 lakh a month and Ms Veena ₹5 lakh a month as consultant despite the alleged absence of corresponding services. These are allegations under investigation. Hindustan Times reported that Mr Vijayan has termed the allegations baseless.
Background
The Kerala High Court ordered the VACB on 9 October to register an FIR, a direction a Division Bench declined to disturb on 15 October; see our reports on that ruling and on the Supreme Court hearing. On 16 October the Chief Justice said the court may constitute a bench during the Dussehra vacation, and otherwise hear the plea when it reopens on 26 October. Mr Vijayan’s counsel told the court that his 82-year-old client faces the risk of arrest, Hindustan Times reported.
The case began with a June 2023 finding by the Income Tax Interim Settlement Board, which Hindustan Times reported noted payments from CMRL to Ms Veena and Exalogic between 2017 and 2019. Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party alleged that the payments were bribes in return for favours to CMRL; Mr Vijayan has denied wrongdoing.
What happens next
The summons is for 23 October, before the Supreme Court is due to reopen on 26 October. Neither report says whether Mr Vijayan will appear or whether the Supreme Court will set up a vacation bench earlier.
Perspectives
Listed in no particular order and given equal space. Inclusion is not endorsement.
The investigating agencies say
- That the CMRL-Exalogic payments to Ms Veena and her firm, made while Mr Vijayan was Chief Minister, were allegedly bribes routed through a consultancy, according to the FIRs as reported by Hindustan Times and The Indian Express.
- That the ED has registered cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, The Indian Express reported; the ED had not issued a public statement on the summons in the reports reviewed.
Mr Vijayan says
- That the allegations are baseless and that he will fight the charges legally and politically, Hindustan Times reported.
- Through his counsel in the Supreme Court, that he faces a risk of arrest and should be protected from coercive action, as reported in our earlier story.
