Kodakara hawala case transferred to Kochi Special PMLA Court for joint trial with ED case

Kochi: The Additional Sessions Court in Irinjalakuda has transferred the Kodakara hawala case, investigated by the Kerala Police Crime Branch, to the Special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Court in Kochi for a joint trial with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) case arising from the same matter.

The court has directed all the accused in the case to appear before the Special PMLA Court at Kaloor in Kochi on November 19, 2026.

The transfer followed a petition filed by the ED under Section 44(1)(c) of the PMLA. The central agency argued that the scheduled predicate offence and the corresponding money laundering case should be tried together and simultaneously before the designated special court.

The ED was represented by Special Public Prosecutor M J Santhosh during the proceedings. It is also learnt that the ED is planning to approach other courts with similar petitions in cases where proceedings relating to the predicate offence and PMLA allegations are pending separately.

The move was strongly opposed by the Kerala Police, which argued against shifting the case to the Special PMLA Court.

The prosecution contended that transferring the proceedings would amount to an encroachment by a central agency into the powers and jurisdiction of the state government.

In a formal objection submitted before the Irinjalakuda court on December 5, 2025, investigating officer and Deputy Superintendent of Police V K Raju pointed out that the trial before the Sessions Court had already reached an advanced stage.

The investigating officer argued that shifting the proceedings at the instance of a third agency, which had no investigative role in the state police case, would cause serious prejudice to the prosecution.

The objection also maintained that the offences investigated by the Kerala Police and those alleged by the ED were ‘separate and distinct.’ It further argued that Section 44 of the PMLA neither permits parallel investigations nor empowers the central agency to interfere with the lawful jurisdiction of the state police.

The Kodakara hawala case relates to an alleged highway robbery reported in Kodakara, Thrissur, on April 3, 2021, just three days before the Kerala Assembly elections.

According to the police investigation, ₹3.50 crore was being transported to Ernakulam for election campaigning when a gang allegedly staged a fake road accident to intercept the vehicle carrying the cash. The money was subsequently looted.

The Kerala Police later arrested 23 people in connection with the case and recovered ₹1.58 crore of the allegedly looted amount.