MADURAI:
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Monday dismissed petitions seeking a CBI probe into the alleged scam involving 1.40 acres of land belonging to the Palani Dhandayuthapani Swamy Temple, valued at around Rs 100 crore.
The petitions seeking transfer of the case to the CBI were filed by former AIADMK Palani MLA Venugopal Senapathi, Palani Municipal Council chairperson Uma Maheswari and temple trustee Annapoorani.
The petitioners had sought a CBI investigation into the alleged irregularities in the registration of the temple-owned property. The land, reportedly worth around Rs 100 crore, was allegedly registered in favour of two private individuals for just Rs 2 crore using forged documents.
During the hearing, the government informed the court that the CBCID investigation was proceeding in the proper direction and that there was no need to transfer the case to the CBI.
A Division Bench comprising Justices C.V. Karthikeyan and R. Sakthivel accepted the government’s submissions and dismissed the petitions seeking a CBI probe.
The CBCID has already arrested several people in connection with the alleged fraud, including Sub-Registrar Justin Manikandan, intermediaries and the alleged purchasers of the property.
The court’s order leaves the ongoing CBCID investigation in place.