Madras High Court dismisses producer Ishari K Ganesh's plea against ED case as withdrawn

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition filed by educationalist and film producer Ishari K Ganesh.

His plea had challenged the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) case against him, after he sought liberty to approach the court again once the trial court passes orders on the closure report from the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC).

The enforcement agency's case is based on a suo motu FIR registered by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption in September 2022 against former AIADMK Health Minister C Vijayabaskar, Ishari K Ganesh, Vels Medical College Dean Dr K Srinivasaraja, and four government doctors under the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA), 1988.

The anti-corruption watchdog alleged that Ganesh had bribed Vijayabaskar in 2020 to obtain an essentiality certificate for Vels Medical College, enabling it to admit 150 MBBS students. Challenging the ED case, Ishari K Ganesh had moved the Madras High Court.

When the matter came up for hearing before a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice SA Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan, the petitioner's counsel submitted that although the DVAC had filed the closure report before the trial court in 2024, it had not yet been accepted.

As the predicate offence had not attained finality, he sought permission to withdraw the petition, with liberty to file a fresh plea after the trial court passes orders on the closure report.

Recording the submission, the division bench permitted the withdrawal and dismissed the petition as withdrawn.