Thiruvananthapuram, The Advocate General has left it to the state police to act on the ED’s report against former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter Veena T and her husband P A Mohamed Riyas in the alleged CMRL bribery case and decide whether to register an FIR, sources said here on Monday.
In the legal opinion, the AG relied on Supreme Court decisions which held that, on receipt of information from the Enforcement Directorate , the state police are bound to register an FIR, if there is a cognizable offence, or a non-cognizable offence case , whichever is applicable in the circumstances.
The government had sought a legal opinion from the AG regarding a letter sent by the ED to the State Police Chief DGP Ravada A Chandrasekhar seeking registration of an FIR under the Prevention of Corruption Act against Vijayan, Veena and Riyas in connection with the alleged CMRL bribery case on the basis of “evidence” gathered during its probe and searches conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act . The apex court decisions also held that, if on verifying the contents of the report, no cognizable offence is indicated, but the police feels that an inquiry is needed, a preliminary inquiry can be conducted to assess whether a cognizable offence is made out, the AG stated in the legal opinon, according to the sources.
