Relief for ADGP Davidson

In a recent development, the Tamil Nadu government informed the Madras High Court (MHC) that no evidence was found against Davidson Devasirvatham, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), in connection with the alleged fake passport allegation. The government has already filed charge sheets against 21 officials and 5 police officers in the case. The case was brought before the first division bench comprising Chief Justice SV Gangapurwala and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy, where Advocate General (AG) PS Raman represented the state. The AG stated that the preliminary investigation into the fake passport allegation did not reveal any wrongdoing on the part of ADGP Davidson. Moreover, the AG informed the court that charge sheets had been filed against the 21 officials and 5 police officers, including an additional commissioner of police. The Madras High Court, addressing the concerns raised by petitioner R Varaaki, directed them to provide any material evidence supporting the alleged offense against Davidson and his wife. The petitioner had accused ADGP Davidson and his wife of issuing 200 Indian passports to Sri Lankan nationals based on fake documents during his tenure as the Commissioner of Police, Madurai city, from June 2018 to July 2020. The Madurai bench of MHC had earlier instructed the Q branch criminal investigation department to probe the matter, and subsequently, the Q branch filed a chargesheet regarding the alleged fake passport scam. During the recent hearing, the petitioner’s counsel sought additional time to gather and submit any material evidence supporting the allegations. The bench granted the request and adjourned the matter to March 4 for further proceedings.