A Supreme Court judge has recused himself from hearing the disproportionate assets case involving Tamil Nadu ministers Thangam Thennarasu and K.K.S.S.R. Ramachandran.
The two ministers, who served in the DMK government between 2006 and 2011, were accused of amassing wealth beyond their known sources of income. In 2022, a Srivilliputhur court acquitted them of all charges. However, Justice Anand Venkatesh of the Madras High Court took up a suo motu review of the case and overturned the lower court’s ruling, ordering a fresh trial.
Challenging this order, both ministers approached the Supreme Court, which granted an interim stay on the re-investigation. The case recently came up before a Supreme Court bench comprising Justices M.M. Sundresh and Rajesh Bindal. However, Justice M.M. Sundresh recused himself from the case, instructing that it be listed before a different bench. Meanwhile, the interim stay on the case was extended.
This recusal is part of a growing trend where judges have stepped away from politically sensitive cases involving Tamil Nadu ministers and DMK leaders.
On March 25, 2024, Madras High Court judges Ramesh and Senthil Kumar recused themselves from a case where the Tamil Nadu government sought to block an Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation into alleged irregularities in TASMAC (the state-run liquor corporation).
In a drug trafficking and illegal money transfer case involving DMK functionary Jaffer Sadiq, Justice Jagadeesh Chandra withdrew from the hearing. (December 21, 2024)
Justice Sundar recused himself from hearing an Enforcement Directorate case against Minister Anitha Radhakrishnan. (November 15, 2023)
Justice Sakthivel stepped away from the bail plea hearing of Minister Senthil Balaji. (June 13, 2023)
The repeated recusals of judges in high-profile cases have raised concerns about judicial transparency and the handling of politically sensitive corruption cases in Tamil Nadu.