Supreme Court Halts CBI Probe Against Kerala CM's Chief Principal Secretary

The Supreme Court has temporarily blocked a Kerala High Court directive that ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to register an FIR and investigate KM Abraham, the Chief Principal Secretary to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, on allegations of possessing disproportionate assets.

Justices Dipankar Datta and Manmohan issued the stay while responding to Abraham's appeal against the High Court order. The bench also sent notices to the CBI, Kerala government, and the original complainant, requesting their responses to the issues raised in the appeal.

Senior advocate R Basant, representing Abraham, argued that the FIR registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act was procedurally flawed. Basant highlighted Section 17A of the Act, which requires prior sanction from a competent authority before registering an FIR against a public servant – a step allegedly skipped in Abraham's case.

The Kerala High Court had previously ordered the CBI investigation on April 11 based on activist Jomon Puthenpurackal's petition. The court cited concerns about Abraham owning properties seemingly beyond his known income, including a ₹3 crore Mumbai apartment, a ₹1 crore flat in Thiruvananthapuram, and an ₹8 crore shopping complex in Kollam.

While the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau had previously investigated the matter, the High Court found their inquiry inadequate and "unlikely to instill public confidence," necessitating a central agency's involvement. The High Court had also criticized a 2017 decision by the Thiruvananthapuram Enquiry Commissioner-cum-Special Judge dismissing the original complaint as "perverse and wholly unreasonable."

Abraham has consistently denied all allegations, maintaining that all properties were acquired legally.