TN government to withdraw review plea before Madras High Court in KN Nehru DVAC case

The Tamil Nadu government on Friday told the Madras High Court that it intends to withdraw its review application tied to an order directing the registration of a Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) case against DMK leader and former Minister KN Nehru [Inbadurai Vs Duraikumar].

A Bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan, however, restrained the State from taking any further proceedings in the said case till June 23.

The Court passed the order after it was informed that a first information report (FIR) had already been registered against Nehru, despite an earlier statement made before the Court that no coercive steps would be taken till the next date of hearing.

"In these circumstances and taking into consideration the statement of the then Advocate General made at the Bar, we direct the State authorities not to undertake any further proceedings against any of the parties till the next date of hearing," the Court said.

The order was passed in a contempt petition filed by AIADMK Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) IS Inbadurai and connected review applications arising from an earlier High Court order.

On February 20, the High Court had directed the Directorate of Viligance and Anti-corruption (DVAC) to register a criminal case based on Enforcement Directorate (ED) inputs alleging large-scale corruption in the Municipal Administration and Water Supply (MAWS) Department.

The matter involves allegations of corruption in transfers, postings and municipal contracts involving the MAWS Department. The Court had, at the time, also pulled up the then DMK-led State government for delays in registering the case and held that the material shared by the ED disclosed a cognisable offence. The DMK government had filed a review petition against this order.

Following the recent Assembly elections, a TVK-led regime came to power in the State in May.

Meanwhile, on April 28, a statement was made in Court that no coercive steps would be taken in the matter for now.

The latest order was passed after a review applicant's counsel made a mention and submitted that the State was initiating coercive action despite the Court’s April 28 order.

On April 28, the Court had also recorded an undertaking by the contempt petitioner's counsel that the contempt proceedings would not be precipitated till the next date of hearing. The matters were then listed for June 23.

On Friday, Senior Advocate V Raghavachari, appearing for Inbadurai submitted that the contempt petitioner had not precipitated the contempt proceedings till date.

The Court also noted that the then Advocate General (representing the erstwhile DMK government) had made a statement across the Bar on April 28 that the State would not take any coercive steps till the next date of hearing.

However, the current Advocate General Vijay Narayan, representing the TVK government, submitted that an FIR had already been registered.

Narayan further submitted that the State intended to withdraw one of the review applications filed by it.

He said he was not aware of the statement made at the Bar by the then Advocate General and that since there was no formal stay of further proceedings, the State proceeded further.

The Court recorded that this factual position was not disputed by any counsel present.

However, the Bench said that since the matter was already fixed for hearing on June 23, no harm would be caused to the State if further proceedings were kept in abeyance till then.

The case will be heard next on June 23.

Senior Advocate Arvindh Pandian appeared for another review applicant

Public Prosecutor John Sathiyan and Special Public Prosecutor N Ramesh appeared for the respondents.

[Read Order]