The Kerala High Court on Friday, 24 October 2026, deferred to Monday the hearing on the appeal plea filed by former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter T. Veena, and her husband, Communist Party of India (Marxist) legislator and former state Tourism Minister P.A. Mohammed Riyas. The trio is challenging the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) in the controversial CMRL-Exalogic corruption case. The matter was not taken up on Friday and has been posted for the coming Monday.

Background: How the Case Reached This Point

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court of India directed Vijayan and the others to approach the same division bench of the Kerala High Court that had upheld the single judge's order for registering an FIR. The apex court's direction came after the petitioners had approached it against the High Court division bench's ruling from the previous week.

That division bench — comprising Justices K. Natarajan and Johnson John — had upheld a single judge's direction to register an FIR into alleged payments made by Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) to Exalogic Solutions, a now-defunct IT firm formerly owned by Veena. The same bench had also dismissed the petitioners' plea seeking leave to appeal against the single judge's order.

What the Court Has Ruled So Far

In its ruling, the division bench observed that an accused in a corruption case has no legal right to be heard before an FIR is registered — a significant legal clarification that underpins the proceedings. The court simultaneously made clear that its judgment did not extinguish the applicants' right to pursue constitutional or statutory remedies against the FIR registration.

The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) was directed to register the FIR and investigate following a petition seeking a probe into the alleged payments.

The Core Allegations

The legal battle centres on allegations that CMRL made payments to Exalogic Solutions during the period when Vijayan served as Chief Minister of Kerala. Scrutiny intensified over claims that the payments were made without corresponding services being rendered by Exalogic, raising questions of corrupt enrichment. Vijayan, Veena, and Riyas have challenged the move through successive rounds of litigation.

What to Expect on Monday

The next hearing before the Kerala High Court on Monday is expected to determine how the trio's challenge to the FIR registration order will proceed. With the Supreme Court having already redirected them to the High Court division bench, observers note that the legal options available to the petitioners are narrowing. The outcome could have significant implications for the VACB investigation and for Vijayan's political standing in Kerala.