"Don't want to make anybody victims; just want due process of law": Tharoor on Pinarayi Vijayan's ED summons

He stated that the central agencies had now taken a step forward, and that too not through the government but through the court.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Monday reacted to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summons to former Keralam Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the CMRL-Exalogic case, saying the development was not a new story and that due process should be followed. "This is not a new story. Pinarayi Vijayan's CMRL connections have been questioned for a long time, including by Congressmen who were in the opposition," Tharoor told ANI.

He stated that the central agencies had now taken a step forward, and that too not through the government but through the court. Tharoor also said that the Congress did not want anyone to be made a victim of unfair investigations.

"If anything has happened is that the central bodies, ED, CBI, and so on, have now taken a particular step forward, and that too not through our govt, but through the court. They've gone to the court and said this should be done. The court has given instructions. We are following the court. Having been victims ourselves of unfair investigations, we don't want to be making anybody victims. We just want the due process of law to follow its course," he added. Earlier on Saturday, Enforcement Directorate officials pasted a summons notice at the rented house of Vijayan in Thiruvananthapuram, in connection with the CMRL-Exalogic payoff case. The agency has asked Vijayan to appear on October 23 at 11 AM to give evidence and produce records.

ED had issued a formal summons to Vijayan on Friday, asking him to appear at its Kochi office on October 23 in connection with an ongoing money laundering case, according to officials. On Friday, the Supreme Court declined to take up an urgent plea by Vijayan seeking a stay on vigilance proceedings in the Rs 278-crore CMRL-Exalogic case, despite his apprehension of imminent arrest.

Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for Vijayan, told a bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi that the 82-year-old leader faced the possibility of arrest. He challenged the Kerala High Court's order directing registration of an FIR, arguing that it was passed by a single judge in proceedings resembling public interest litigation.

The Chief Justice said the court would explore the possibility of constituting a special bench during the upcoming Dussehra vacation, subject to the availability of judges. If that was not possible, the matter would be listed on October 26. The Supreme Court is scheduled to resume regular functioning on October 26 after the Dussehra break.

The single-judge bench of the Keralam High Court had, on October 9, directed the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) to initiate a criminal case following a report forwarded by the ED to the police. The ED had sought the registration of a case based on material collected during its probe, including searches conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The allegations concern payments made by CMRL and an associate company to Exalogic Solutions. The agency alleged that CMRL improperly transferred Rs 2.78 crore to Exalogic by portraying the payments as fees for IT consultancy services. (ANI)