NEW DELHI, Oct 20: The Supreme Court will hear two significant petitions on Wednesday, including one filed by former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his family members in the alleged Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) bribery case, and another by the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) over alleged violence during the nomination process for local body elections in Andhra Pradesh.
A special bench comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana will consider the YSRCP’s challenge to an October 18 order of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, which rejected its request to extend the nomination deadline by one day.
The party, led by former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, has alleged that widespread violence prevented several of its candidates from submitting nomination papers for the urban local body elections.
The YSRCP has sought police protection for its candidates, an extension of the nomination deadline and the establishment of additional or alternative centres where candidates can safely submit their documents.
In its petition, filed by party general secretary Lella Appireddy through advocate Mahfooz Ahsan Nazki, the party alleged that several candidates were assaulted or physically prevented from reaching nomination centres during the filing period, which ran from October 16 to 18.
The Andhra Pradesh High Court rejected the request for an extension, observing that the deadline had already expired and that extending it would amount to interference in the electoral process.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to examine the matter while the apex court remains closed for the Dussehra holidays.
Vijayan, family challenge Kerala High Court order
The special bench will also take up petitions filed by Vijayan, his daughter Veena T and her husband P A Mohamed Riyas challenging the Kerala High Court’s refusal to allow appeals against an earlier direction to register a first information report (FIR) in the alleged CMRL bribery case.
On October 15, the Kerala High Court dismissed their applications seeking permission to appeal against a single judge’s October 9 order directing the state’s Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) to register a case.
The high court had held that an accused in a corruption case has no legal right to be heard before an FIR is registered.
Vijayan and his family members had argued that they were not given an opportunity to present their position before the single judge issued the direction. They also contended that the original petition was in the nature of a public interest litigation and should therefore have been heard by a division bench dealing with PIL matters.
The legal challenge followed the registration of two FIRs by the VACB’s Special Investigation Unit-1 against Vijayan and members of his family in connection with the allegations.
ED report forms basis of bribery allegations
The Kerala High Court’s October 9 order directed the VACB to register a case based on a report submitted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to the state police.
The ED had sought the registration of a criminal case based on material gathered during its investigation and searches conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The agency has alleged that CMRL made payments totalling Rs 2.78 crore to Veena’s now-defunct company, Exalogic Solutions, under the guise of information technology consultancy services.
The allegations are the subject of the ongoing legal proceedings, and the claims against the individuals concerned remain to be adjudicated.
Wednesday’s hearing will bring two distinct legal disputes before the special bench: one concerning the fairness of the nomination process in Andhra Pradesh and the other involving the legal challenge to the registration of an FIR in the Kerala bribery case.