CMRL-Exalogic case: ED serves notice on Pinarayi Vijayan, seeks appearance on Oct 23

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has directed former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to appear before it in Kochi on Friday after pasting a notice at his rented residence in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday.

The agency resorted to pasting the five-page document at the entrance after nobody at the house accepted it, despite an earlier attempt to deliver the notice by post.

Senior CPI(M) leader and former state minister V. Sivankutty visited the residence following the officials’ arrival. He said the ED team had initially enquired about Vijayan and was informed that he was in Kannur. The officials later returned with police personnel and pasted the notice, citing the failure to hand it over to anyone at the house.

Sivankutty questioned the decision, arguing that the agency could have approached Vijayan in Kannur, where his location was known. He also described the move as serious and alleged that the ED was exceeding its authority while the matter remained before the Supreme Court.

When asked whether Vijayan would attend the scheduled appearance, Sivankutty declined to comment, saying the question should be directed to the former Chief Minister.

The residence had previously been searched by ED officials, who reportedly recovered a red diary during the operation. The agency has maintained that pasting a notice is a routine procedure when it cannot be delivered directly to the recipient.

With IANS inputs