Kochi: The Kerala High Court’s Division Bench will consider at 1.45 pm on Tuesday the pleas filed by Opposition Leader and former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter T Veena and son-in-law and MLA P A Mohammed Riyas, seeking permission to challenge a Single Bench order directing the registration of cases against them in the CMRL pay-off case.

The three have filed separate petitions seeking 'leave to appeal' against the order, their counsel Advocate Gilbert George Correya told Onmanorama.

Since they were not parties to the original petition filed by activist K M Shajahan, the three must obtain the Division Bench’s permission before their appeals can be considered on merits, Correya said. The writ appeals have already been filed, but can be taken up only if the court grants leave to appeal.

The legal move follows a Single Bench order directing the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) to register cases against Vijayan and his family under the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA). The Single Bench had relied on findings and materials forwarded by the Enforcement Directorate, holding that they prima facie disclosed an offence. It also ruled that a preliminary inquiry or prior government sanction under Section 17A of the PCA was not necessary in the circumstances and set aside an earlier state police order constituting a Special Investigation Team without sanction.

Following the ruling, the VACB registered two FIRs against Vijayan, Veena, Riyas and others on Monday. Challenging the order, their counsel contends that directing the registration of FIRs against individuals who were not parties to the original proceedings, without giving them an opportunity to be heard, violates the principles of natural justice.