ED pastes notice at Pinarayi Vijayan's residence, summons him to Kochi
Synopsis
The Enforcement Directorate escalated its pursuit of former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday, pasting a five-page summons at his Thiruvananthapuram residence after staff refused to accept it — the same home where a red diary was recovered in a previous ED raid. The CPI-M has cried foul, alleging the agency overstepped when Vijayan's location in Kannur was publicly known. Whether the veteran politician appears in Kochi on Friday will signal how this high-stakes legal standoff unfolds.
Key Takeaways
The Enforcement Directorate pasted a five-page notice at former Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan 's rented residence in Thiruvananthapuram on 17 October 2026 .
The notice directs Vijayan to appear before the ED in Kochi on Friday .
Officials pasted the notice after no one at the residence accepted it; the ED terms this standard procedure.
Senior CPI-M leader V.
Sivankutty questioned the move, saying Vijayan was in Kannur and his whereabouts were publicly known.
The notice was served at the same residence where ED conducted a previous raid and recovered a red diary .
Sivankutty said the matter is reportedly before the Supreme Court and alleged the ED was acting beyond its brief.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday, 17 October 2026, pasted a five-page notice at the rented residence of former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in Thiruvananthapuram, directing him to appear before the agency in Kochi on Friday. ED officials reportedly resorted to pasting the notice at the entrance after no one at the residence agreed to accept it, and after an earlier attempt to serve it by post had not resulted in compliance.
How the Notice Was Served
According to reports, ED officials first visited the residence and asked about Vijayan. Staff at the house told them he was not present and was in Kannur. The officials left and returned shortly thereafter accompanied by a few police personnel. Finding no one willing to accept the notice, they pasted it at the entrance — a procedure the ED describes as standard practice when a notice is refused.
CPI-M's Sharp Reaction
Senior Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader and former Kerala minister V. Sivankutty reached the residence after learning of the ED officials' visit and spoke to the media. He said Vijayan's location in Kannur was publicly known and questioned why the agency did not travel there to serve the notice in person. 'I fail to understand why the ED acted in this manner when Vijayan is in Kannur, and his whereabouts are known to everyone. If they wanted, they could have gone to Kannur and met him,' Sivankutty said. He termed the ED's action 'serious' and alleged the agency was acting beyond its brief, particularly given that the matter is reportedly before the Supreme Court.
The Red Diary and the Broader Investigation
The notice was pasted at the same residence where ED officials conducted a raid a few months earlier and reportedly recovered a red diary — a development that, according to reports, opened up significant complications for the veteran two-time Chief Minister, who currently serves as Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Legislative Assembly. The precise contents and evidentiary significance of the diary have not been officially confirmed, but the recovery has reportedly been central to the ED's ongoing probe.
Will Vijayan Appear on Friday?
When asked whether Vijayan would comply with the summons and appear before the ED in Kochi on Friday, Sivankutty declined to speculate. 'That you have to ask him,' he said. Vijayan himself had not responded publicly to the notice at the time of reporting. This comes amid heightened scrutiny of the CPI-M leadership in Kerala and marks a significant escalation in the agency's pursuit of the former Chief Minister. Whether Vijayan appears before the ED on Friday will be closely watched as a key development in this politically charged investigation.
Point of View
Adding pressure ahead of any legal proceedings. For a sitting Leader of Opposition whose party is already battling the red-diary fallout, each escalation chips away at the political insulation CPI-M has traditionally relied upon. The Supreme Court dimension flagged by Sivankutty is the critical variable: if the court has issued a stay or is actively seized of the matter, the ED's timing invites scrutiny that goes beyond party politics.
NationPress
17 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did the ED paste a notice at Pinarayi Vijayan's residence?
The ED pasted the five-page notice at Vijayan's Thiruvananthapuram residence on 17 October 2026 after staff at the house refused to accept it. The agency had earlier attempted to serve the notice by post; pasting at the entrance is described by ED officials as standard procedure when a notice is not accepted.
What is Pinarayi Vijayan being summoned for?
The notice directs Vijayan to appear before the ED in Kochi on Friday. The summons is linked to an ongoing investigation, which reportedly gained momentum after ED officials recovered a red diary during a raid at the same residence a few months earlier.
What did CPI-M leader V. Sivankutty say about the ED notice?
Sivankutty questioned why the ED did not travel to Kannur — where Vijayan was present and his whereabouts were publicly known — to serve the notice in person. He termed the action 'serious' and alleged the agency was acting beyond its brief, noting that the matter is reportedly before the Supreme Court.
Will Pinarayi Vijayan appear before the ED in Kochi on Friday?
That remains unclear. When asked, Sivankutty declined to speculate and said the question should be put directly to Vijayan. Vijayan had not publicly responded to the notice at the time of reporting.
What is the red diary found at Vijayan's residence?
A few months before the latest summons, ED officials raided the same Thiruvananthapuram residence and reportedly recovered a red diary. According to reports, the recovery opened up significant complications for the former two-time Chief Minister, though the precise contents have not been officially confirmed by the agency.
