New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday (November 29) stayed a Madras High Court order that restored a disproportionate assets (DA) case against former Tamil Nadu chief minister O Panneerselvam and his family members.
A bench comprising Justice Hrishikesh Roy and Justice S V N Bhatti, while hearing a plea filed by Panneerselvam, also issued notice to the Tamil Nadu police and others.
High Court on October 29 set aside discharge of Panneerselvam in a DA case
A single bench of Justice N Anand Venkatesh of the High Court had on October 29 set aside a 2012 discharge order by a Sivaganga trial court, which had allowed the prosecution to withdraw the DA case against Panneerselvam and others.
“In the present matter concerned, the challenge is to the impugned order of single judge of the High Court judicature at Madras exercising powers of suo motu criminal revision, under Section 397 of the Code of Criminal Procedure Code, 1973. Issue notice,” the apex court bench ordered.
What allegations were levelled against Panneerselvam?
The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) had alleged that Paneerselvam, during his tenure as the Tamil Nadu chief minister for four months and subsequently as revenue minister of the state from 2001 to 2006, amassed assets in his name and those of his relatives that was 374 times disproportionate to his known sources of income.
What did High Court say while taking suo motu cognisance of discharge of Panneerselvam?
“This is a case where a political personage has maneuvered the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC), the State government and the court to ensure that the trial against him was derailed,” the High Court had said while taking suo motu cognisance of discharge of Paneerselvam and had added, “The records, prima facie, reveal a shocking tale of how the criminal justice system was once again subverted by the collective effort of all concerned to ensure that the accused were released from the clutches of the law.”
High Court had also taken suo motu cognisance of acquittal of some other political leaders
The High Court, which had also taken suo motu cognisance of acquittal of some other political leaders and while examining the cases of their acquittal, had said that modus operandi in the cases of acquittals is all too obvious and at the centre of the plot is the DVAC.
“When a political party comes to power in the State of Tamil Nadu, the DVAC swoops down on the opposition and clamps cases of corruption. However, no prosecution for corruption ends in five years which is the life span of an elected government in the state. Invariably, the opposition is voted back to power and the DVAC, like the puppets in the Muppets show, will have to perforce sing a different tune in tandem with its political masters,” the High Court had said.
