CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has permitted the withdrawal of a petition seeking a direction to the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) to register an FIR against Finance Minister N Marie Wilson over his alleged admission in the Assembly that he had paid a bribe to a public official/former Minister to secure recognition and permissions for his private educational institution.

The petitioner, Advocate K Sivasubramaniam, sought permission to withdraw the petition before a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice SA Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan. The Bench accepted his request and permitted him to withdraw the petition.

Along with the petition over his Assembly utterances, he also sought an independent, thorough, time-bound investigation into the alleged extortion network in T Nagar, Chennai, and regulatory violations involving his educational institutions.

In his petition, Sivasubramaniam stated that during the proceedings and debates in the Assembly on August 24, 2026, Marie Wilson had openly admitted on record that he paid a bribe to a public official/former minister to obtain recognition and permissions for his private educational institution.

He submitted that the alleged admission of bribe-giving by a sitting Cabinet Minister had caused intense public outrage, affected the dignity of the Legislative Assembly and undermined public trust in governance.

Sivasubramaniam further stated that he had sent a formal criminal complaint to the DVAC by speed post on August 27, 2026, seeking registration of an FIR under Sections 8 and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, read with Section 173 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023

However, he alleged that the DVAC had failed to act on the complaint, register an FIR or initiate an investigation against Marie Wilson.