Chennai, July 28:
In a set back to former AIADMK Minister and incumbent DMK MLA R Vaithilingam, the Principal Sessions Court in Chennai on Monday directed the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) to conduct a fresh probe into the Rs 28 crore bribery charge against him and submit a report in three months.
When the petition filed by NGO Arappor Iyakkam–which has long launched a crusade against corruption–challenging the DVAC’s decision to close the case, came up for hearing, PSJ Judge S Karthikeyan accepted the anti-corruption agency’s submission that further probe needs to be conducted in the case and directed it to complete the investigation in three months and submit a report.
The Judge also accepted the DVAC plea to withdraw its earlier closure report and reopen the investigation following objections raised by Arappor Iyakkam and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The case against Vaithilingam, an AIADMK strongman who has since moved to DMK and became a Legislator from his pocketborough of Orathanadu constituency in Thanjavur district, was that during his tenure as Housing Minister during the 2011-16 AIADMK regime headed by J Jayalalithaa, he had received a bribe of about Rs 28 crore from a private real estate firm in 2015-16 for according planning approvals for a 1,400-apartment housing project at Perungalathur on the city outskirts.
The Arappor Iyakkam in its complaint alleged that the former Minister had accepted the bribe amount from Shriram Properties for granting approvals and that Rs 27.9 crore was transferred from its subsidiary Bharat Coal and Chemicals, to a private real estate firm Muthammal Estate Private Ltd owned by Vaithilingam’s son.
The DVAC filed a First Information Report in September 2024, but later submitted a closure report to the court in February 2026 soon after Vaithilingam resigned as AIADMK MLA, quit that party and joined the DMK in the run up to the April Assembly elections. This triggered strong opposition from AIADMK and BJP which had a dig at the DMK, which was in power at that time.
However, after the NGO moved the PSJ court seeking to quash the closure report and order a fresh probe, the DVAC informed the court that it would reinvestigate the 27.9 graft case against Vaithilingam. Following the submissions in the court, Arun ordered a fresh probe, and directed investigators to examine the charges in detail and also look into the reasons behind the earlier closure.
While the Enforcement Directorate had filed a petition against the closure of the case, Arappor Iyakkam, an anti-corruption NGO, had moved the Chennai court seeking a copy of the closure report and hearing the pleas, the Sessions Court directed the Anti-Corruption agency to conduct fresh probe against the ex-Minister and submit a report in three months.