TVK member moves Madras High Court alleging bribery in selection of government advocates

A member of the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) party has moved the Madras High Court alleging irregularities in the selection of government advocates for Villupuram district [Gnanasoundari Vs Secretary Law Department].

The plea has been filed by M Gnanasoundari, a practising advocate from Villupuram, against the Tamil Nadu Law Department, the Villupuram District Collector, TVK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, TVK general secretary N Anandh and the party’s Villupuram district secretary N Mohanraj.

Gnanasoundari has sought a direction to the authorities to give her an opportunity in the selection process. She has also sought an interim injunction restraining the Law Department and the District Collector from proceeding further with the notification.

According to the petition, the advertisement for appointment of government advocates in Villupuram district was issued on June 5. Gnanasoundari said she applied for the post of special public prosecutor for the Mahila Court at Villupuram on June 22 and for the post of additional public prosecutor for the Principal and Sub Court at Villupuram on June 29.

She claimed that though she submitted six copies of her biodata and relevant documents at the Collector’s office, no acknowledgement was issued to her.

The petitioner alleged that even before the application deadline expired at 5.45 pm on June 29, a list of selected candidates was circulated in WhatsApp groups at 12.11 pm. She claimed that this was contrary to the notification and was proof that the selection had been finalised before the process was over.

Gnanasoundari further alleged that when she approached the TVK district secretary regarding the circulated list, she was told that it was the final list. She also alleged that advocates linked to the DMK and AIADMK had been selected without following the procedure prescribed by law.

As per the plea, there was bribery involved in the selection process and amounts ranging from ₹5 lakh to ₹30 lakh were collected for each post in collusion with government officials.

She said she had impleaded Vijay as a respondent since he is both the president of TVK and the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and has repeatedly spoken against corruption and illegality.

However, the selection of government advocates in Villupuram allegedly reflected illegality on the part of the authorities, she alleged.

The plea was filed through advocates A Rameshmanikandan and R Ananthalakshmi.