The Madras High Court on Sunday voiced strong dissatisfaction over what it called the difficulty of pursuing corruption cases against influential persons in India, while hearing a matter linked to alleged irregularities during the AIADMK regime.
The case relates to allegations that, when S.P. Velumani was the Minister for Municipal Administration, road works in the Chennai and Coimbatore corporations were awarded to his relatives and close associates. A case was registered alleging irregularities to the tune of Rs 98.25 crore against Velumani and others.
Arappor Iyakkam moved the High Court against the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC), alleging that a court direction to file the final report/charge sheet had not been complied with. The court also sought an explanation from the Union government on why sanction to prosecute the accused IAS officers Kandasamy and Vijay Karthikeyan was being delayed.
When the matter came up again before Justice Anand Venkatesh, the Union government said it had received the Tamil Nadu government’s letter seeking sanction on July 28 and that the request was under consideration. The State informed the court that a reminder was sent on August 27.
The judge questioned the delay in granting sanction and remarked that if obtaining approval itself required such effort, it was uncertain what would happen next in the case. The court directed the Deputy Secretary of the Union Department of Personnel and Training to appear via video conference and explain the delay and the present status of the request, and adjourned the hearing to the 16th.
