CMRLpay-off case: Kerala HC reserves order on plea to appeal against single Bench directive to register FIR

The Kerala High Court has reserved its order on a plea to grant leave to appeal against a single Bench directive to register a first information report (FIR) against the accused, including former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in the CMRL-Exalogic pay-off case. 

The Division Bench of Justices K. Natarajan and Johnson John held that it would not stay the operation of the impugned judgment before deciding whether to allow the plea to appeal against the order. The Division Bench stated that the court must follow procedure before considering a stay. 

Representing the accused, Mr. Vijayan, his daughter T. Veena, and son-in-law and former Minister P.A. Mohammed Riyas, senior lawyers Gopalakrishna Kurup, S. Sreekumar, and T. A. Shaji argued that they were not given an opportunity to be heard, even though the judgment directly affected them.

The accused sought a stay on the judgment’s operation, stating that any delay would render the appeals pointless. They contended that through the directive to register the FIR, the single judge foreclosed the options available to the accused. Otherwise, if a Station House Officer or the State had registered the FIR, the accused could have challenged it before the court.