Pinarayi Vijayan and his family are set to approach the Supreme Court on Friday after suffering a setback at the Kerala High Court, as twin probes by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) close in on the veteran Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) leader. The outcome of the legal battle carries significant implications for both Vijayan personally and a party already reeling from its worst electoral defeat in Kerala.

Twin Probes and the Accused

Vijayan, 82, is listed as the first accused in a case involving alleged corruption linked to his daughter, T. Veena, and her now-defunct IT firm, Exalogic. Veena is the second accused in both the ED and VACB proceedings. In a separate case involving alleged hawala transactions, former minister and CPI(M) legislator P.A. Mohammed Riyas — Vijayan's son-in-law — is named as the first accused. With the Kerala High Court setback forcing the family to escalate the legal fight, the Supreme Court has emerged as the next critical battleground.

CPI(M) Closes Ranks — But at a Cost

The CPI(M) leadership has firmly ruled out Vijayan's resignation as Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Legislative Assembly, choosing to stand behind him despite mounting legal pressure. The decision, however, has placed the party's long-stated commitment to political morality under renewed scrutiny. Critics have noted the contrast between the CPI(M)'s past demands for accountability from opposition leaders facing graft allegations and its current posture in defending Vijayan.

The controversy also draws comparisons to the SNC-Lavalin case, in which former CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat had argued that Vijayan need not resign as party state secretary because he held no government post at the time. The parallel is not lost on political observers, who see the leadership's current stance as a continuation of that defensive tradition.

Historic Electoral Collapse as Backdrop

The legal developments unfold against a backdrop of devastating political losses. In the April 2026 Kerala Assembly elections, the Left's seat count collapsed from 99 to 35, while the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) swept to power with 102 seats and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured three. The party's district committees are currently reviewing the reasons behind that historic defeat — and the Exalogic-linked investigations, reportedly dominating news cycles in Kerala, are widely seen as having contributed to the erosion of public trust.

Notably, this is the first time CPI(M) finds itself out of power in every state since the party's formation, making the Kerala situation doubly consequential for its national standing.

What the Supreme Court Battle Could Decide

While the CPI(M) leadership's decision to back Vijayan may stabilise his position as Leader of Opposition in the near term, it does not resolve the underlying legal uncertainty. Any further escalation of the ED or VACB investigations could deepen the political crisis for a party already struggling to rebuild public confidence. The Supreme Court's handling of the case will likely determine the pace and scope of both probes going forward.

For Vijayan, who has been the dominant figure in Kerala's CPI(M) since the late 1990s, the apex court hearing on Friday represents perhaps the most consequential legal moment of his decades-long political career. For the CPI(M), how the case unfolds will shape the party's credibility as it attempts to chart a path back to electoral relevance in Kerala.