In a significant development, the Tamil Nadu Governor, R N Ravi, has informed the Supreme Court that he has accorded sanction to the files related to the prosecution of former AIADMK ministers implicated in the Gutkha scam, a case investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The detailed affidavit was filed by the Attorney General of India on behalf of the Governor.
The Raj Bhavan’s affidavit, submitted to the Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, outlines the progress in processing the files related to the prosecution of former AIADMK ministers Dr C Vijayabaskar and B V Ramana. The files, received from the Tamil Nadu government on September 12, 2022, were sanctioned by the Governor on November 13, 2023.
The prosecution in question is linked to the Gutkha scam, a case that has been under investigation by the CBI. The Governor also informed the Supreme Court that a file received on May 15, 2023, regarding the prosecution against another former AIADMK minister, M R Vijayabaskar, is currently under consideration.
Furthermore, the Raj Bhavan’s affidavit reveals that a file related to the prosecution of yet another former AIADMK minister, K C Veeramani, was received from the state government on November 18, 2023. The Governor, who received the file on September 12, 2022, had sought a duly authenticated investigation report from the state government on July 7, 2013. However, the state government’s reply, received on July 11, indicated that only unauthenticated loose sheets were available. In response, the Governor, as per the affidavit, sanctioned the prosecution against former Thanjavur Tamil University Vice-Chancellor G Bhaskaran.
The affidavit also mentioned that only five bills sent for assent by the Tamil Nadu government in October 2023 are curr