The Madras High Court has directed the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) to register a criminal case against Tamil Nadu Minister K.N. Nehru over allegations raised by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) regarding transfer-posting bribery and irregularities in tender allocations in the Municipal Administration and Water Supply (MAWS) Department.
The Enforcement Directorate had earlier sent a communication seeking registration of a case, alleging that bribes amounting to Rs 634 crore were collected in connection with 2,538 appointments in the MAWS Department. The appointments reportedly included posts such as Assistant Engineer, Junior Engineer and Sanitary Inspector.
Based on the ED’s letter, AIADMK MP I.S. Inbadurai and K. Athinarayanan, President of the Maruthu Senai Society, Madurai, filed petitions before the Madras High Court seeking directions to the Tamil Nadu Director General of Police (DGP) to register a criminal case.
When the petitions came up for hearing before a Bench comprising Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G. Arul Murugan, Senior Counsel V. Raghavachari, appearing for Inbadurai, argued that the materials forwarded by the Enforcement Directorate were sufficient to direct registration of FIRs in corruption cases and that there was no necessity for a preliminary enquiry.
Counsel for the Enforcement Directorate, Ramesh, submitted that FIRs should be registered on the basis of the materials provided by the agency.
Appearing on behalf of the Tamil Nadu government, Advocate General P.S. Raman informed the Court that the ED’s letter had already been forwarded to the State authorities and that permission had been granted for investigation by the DVAC.
After hearing all parties, the Bench observed that the materials furnished by the Enforcement Directorate prima facie disclosed cognizable offences. The Court held that, in view of the sufficient materials placed on record, a preliminary inquiry was not warranted.
Accordingly, the High Court directed the DVAC to register a case forthwith based on the materials supplied by the Enforcement Directorate and to proceed with the investigation in accordance with law. The writ petition filed by K. Athinarayanan was dismissed.