Kerala High Court Dismisses CMRL's Plea To Quash ED Case Alleging Misappropriation Of Public Money

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday (May 26) dismissed the petition filed by the Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) seeking to quash the proceedings initiated by the Enforcement Directorate in view of the bribery and money laundering allegation against the company.

A detailed judgment is awaited.

Justice T.R. Ravi pronounced the decision in open court.

After the decision was pronounced, the CMRL's counsel sought for a 2 weeks' extension of the interim order passed by the Court deferring the summoning of the CMRL officials till the disposal of the plea. However, the Court was not inclined to allow the request.

The Court orally remarked, "I'm not really inclined. I don't think it should be done. Even otherwise, I feel that without a further notice, they'll not be able to do anything. So when a further notice comes, you are always free to."

The petition was filed by officials of CMRL: Senior Manager N.C. Chandrashekharan, Senior Officer Anju Rachael Kuruvila, Chief Financial Officer K.S. Suresh Kumar and Managing Director S.N. Sasidharan Kartha to quash the proceedings initiated by the the ED arising out of Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR). The petition was also filed seeking a stay on the proceedings, including a stay on the summons issued against the officials.

CMRL was involved in a slew of bribery and money laundering allegations. It was alleged that CMRL has handed bribes to Veena Thaikandiyil (Veena Vijayan), daughter of former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and her company Exalogic Solutions Pvt. Ltd., as well as other public servants and carried illegal financial transactions.

Case Title: WPC 15757/2024

Case Number: M/S. Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited v. Directorate of Enforcement

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 291