3 months ago
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The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) connected Wednesday assured the Madras High Court of a “proper and afloat fledged inquiry” successful a cash-for-jobs ailment lodged by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) against Minister K.N. Nehru’s Muncipal Administration and Water Supply Department.
Appearing earlier the archetypal Division Bench of Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G. Arul Murugan, elder counsel N.R. Elango, representing the DVAC, said the second would besides beryllium penning to the ED, asking the bureau to stock immoderate different worldly successful its possession.
The submissions were made earlier the Bench reserved its orders connected 2 writ petitions, 1 filed by K. Athinarayanan of Madurai and different by AIADMK Rajya Sabha subordinate I.S. Inbadurai, seeking a absorption to the DVAC to registry a First Information Report (FIR) regarding the alleged scam.
Mr. Elango said the accusation shared by the ED with the Tamil Nadu constabulary had been treated arsenic the archetypal accusation and the DVAC had begun a ‘detailed inquiry’ into the contented arsenic per the provisions of the Vigilance Manual that was 1 of the country’s oldest manual approved by the Supreme Court.
Hence, the accusation shared by the writ petitioners could not beryllium treated arsenic the archetypal accusation and an FIR could not beryllium filed without awaiting the result of the ‘detailed inquiry,’ the elder counsel said, adding that the DVAC would probe without immoderate preconceived notions.
During the opening of the hearing, the Chief Justice expressed displeasure implicit the archetypal writ petitioner from Madurai not having disclosed his antecedents successful his affidavit though helium had been facing respective transgression cases for the past fewer years, including 1 for the complaint of effort to murder.
Thereafter, the Bench went connected to perceive the arguments of elder counsel V. Raghavachari, for the AIADMK MP, who relied upon 3 Supreme Court judgments successful enactment of his statement that the DVAC was duty-bound to registry an FIR connected the ground of accusation shared by the ED and that a elaborate enquiry would not suffice.
ED Special Public Prosecutor N. Ramesh said the bureau had not conscionable shared accusation but had actually shared grounds moving to 232 pages that intelligibly show the committee of a cognisable offence, and therefore, the DVAC could not but registry an FIR connected the ground of the materials.
However, Advocate General P.S. Raman said the ED had collected those materials during a hunt and seizure cognition carried retired successful April 2025 successful transportation with a slope fraud case. He said a Division Bench of the High Court had successful July 24, 2025 quashed the Enforcement Case Information Report booked successful that case.
“Thereafter, the ED was expected to person returned each those materials to the individuals concerned. However, it had retained a transcript of each those materials, waited for astir 3 months, and past shared them with the Director-General of Police of Tamil Nadu connected October 27, 2025,” helium said.
Stating the Tamil Nadu authorities had acted with alacrity by forwarding the ED’s connection to the DVAC which had present begun a ‘detailed inquiry,’ the A-G said, the result of the enquiry would beryllium placed earlier the government, wrong the stipulated clip of 180 days, for further action.
