Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan has sought a judicial inquiry into businessman CJ Roy’s suicide during an Income Tax raid in Bengaluru, calling it “a blot on the tax administration” and citing possible procedural lapses.
Kerala CM Seeks Judicial Probe Into CJ Roy’s Death (Source: Instagram)
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has asked Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to order a judicial inquiry into the death of well-known businessman CJ Roy, who died by suicide in Bengaluru.
Roy was the chairman of Confident Group and a well-known industrialist with major real estate projects in Kerala, Karnataka, and the Middle East. He was found dead on January 30 at his office in Langford Town, Bengaluru. At that time, Income Tax (I-T) officials were carrying out search and seizure operations at the premises.
According to Bengaluru Police, Roy went into another room during the raid and shot himself in the chest with his licensed pistol. Doctors at a nearby private hospital declared him “brought dead.”
The Kerala CM said Roy’s death has deeply disturbed the business community and the public in Kerala. He described the incident as extremely serious and linked it to the government’s stated tax approach of ‘Non Intrusive Usage of Data to Guide and Enable’ (NUDGE).
He called the incident “a blot on the tax administration of the country.”
In his letter, Vijayan raised questions about how such an incident could happen during an official search.
“It is quite surprising that the person in whose premises, the Income Tax department was conducting a search and seizure operation, could proceed to lay hands on a loaded gun and shoot himself, when the tax department personnel were going ahead with search operations. When such operations are proceeding, the premises are to be under the control of the tax officials and the safe conduct of search is the minimum responsibility of the officials,” the CM stated in the letter.
He suggested there may have been serious failures in following basic procedures during the operation. He said “non-compliance with the following of minimum essential protocol” may have led to the loss of a life.
Vijayan also mentioned a statement made by Roy’s brother, CJ Babu, to local media. Babu reportedly said the pressure caused by the I-T officials was “unbearable.” The CM said these concerns make it even more important to conduct a detailed and fair investigation.
Although a special investigation team (SIT) of the Karnataka Police is already investigating the case, Vijayan believes a judicial probe is necessary for a broader review.
“It is my belief that the best option which can be exercised by the Government of India in this matter will be to order a judicial inquiry into the incident and it will be in the fitness of things that the Commission of Inquiry be headed by a person who has had experience as a judge in a constitutional court,” the CM wrote to the FM. He said such an inquiry could examine legal procedures, administrative actions, and the family’s grievances, and also help prevent similar incidents in the future.
The police investigation is ongoing. Meanwhile, the Kerala government is pushing for a higher-level judicial probe to ensure accountability and transparency in the case.
