The Supreme Court docket on Friday stayed the order of the Madras excessive court docket restoring corruption circumstances in opposition to former Tamil Nadu chief minister O Panneerselvam and his kin nearly 12 years after he was discharged within the case in 2012.
A bench headed by justice Hrishikesh Roy stayed the October 29 order handed in a suo motu proceedings initiated by the excessive court docket, restoring the disproportionate property (DA) case in opposition to him.
The excessive court docket order required the trial decide to border fees, conduct trial on a day-to-day foundation and conclude trial by June 2025.
In search of response of the state authorities on the petitions filed by Panneerselvam and his kin, the court docket posted the matter for listening to after 4 weeks.
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The bench, additionally comprising justice SVN Bhatti mentioned, “Within the meantime, operation of the judgment shall stay stayed.”
The path below problem was handed by justice Anand Venkatesh who put aside an order of the chief judicial Justice of the Peace (CJM) Sivaganga discharging the previous CM and 7 of his members of the family on December 3, 2012. The discharge order was handed after the state withdrew prosecution. Trial abated in opposition to two accused, together with Panneerselvam’s spouse P Vijayalakshmi who died because the discharge order.
Senior attorneys led by former Lawyer Normal Mukul Rohatgi together with senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Siddharth Luthra appeared for the accused declaring that in comparable orders arising from suo motu proceedings initiated by justice Venkatesh in opposition to sitting ministers of the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) authorities, the highest court docket has issued discover and stayed HC order.
It was identified that below the Code of Legal Process (CrPC), the trial decide is given the discretion to think about the fabric and determine whether or not a case is made out to proceed in opposition to the accused. Nevertheless, this proper of the trial decide was taken over by the HC which held that prima facie floor exists to proceed with framing of cost in opposition to the accused and conclude trial by June 30 subsequent 12 months.
Singhvi mentioned, “There’s a putting delay because the restoration of proceedings is going on after nearly 20 years.”
Within the case of Pannneerselvam, the HC directed the case information to be despatched to particular court docket at Madurai as a consequence of a notification issued in 2011 designating all circumstances pertaining to MPs and MLAs to be transferred from Sivaganga court docket to Madurai.
Panneerselvam was elected to the Tamil Nadu legislative meeting from the Periakulam constituency on an All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) ticket in Might 2001.
Between September 2001 to Might 2002, he served because the chief minister within the state and proceedings have been initiated in opposition to him after AIADMK was voted out of energy in Might 2006.
The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) had registered the case in opposition to the previous CM for accumulating wealth to the tune of ₹1.7 crore discovered disproportionate to his recognized sources of revenue whereas he was the chief minister and income minister within the state. In 2012, AIADMK got here again to energy pursuant to which DVAC closed the case resulting in his discharge.
