KKSSR raises suspicion over DVAC's investigation before Madras HC

CHENNAI: Minister KKSSR Ramachandran raised suspicious over the bonafide of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) as the case lodged against him when he lost the election, before the Madras High Court (MHC) in the suo motu criminal revision initiated against his discharge from the disproportionate asset (DA) case.

Senior counsel S Muralidhar appeared for the minister and submitted that the further report should be considered as a supplementary report.

The counsel also referred to the Supreme Court's judgment in the Vinay Tyagi vs Irshad Ali 2012 case and submitted that an Investigation Officer (IO) can submit a supplementary report which should be considered as part of the earlier report.

The counsel also raised suspicion over the bona fide of the investigation as the DVAC registered against his client when he lost the election.

It is a vindictive case submitted the counsel, and the judge intervened and observed that is why I wrote in my order, with this type of investigation agency what message the State gives to the general public.

Further, the counsel submitted that there is no prima facie to the accumulation of assets from unknown sources against the minister, Rs. 23 lakh mentioned in the report as proceeds of crime is not an ill-gotten money, said the counsel.

After the submission, the judge posted the matter to March 8 for continuation of senior counsel's further submission.

Alleging amassing assets far in excess of known sources of income when KKSSR was the minister between 2006-2011, the DVAC had in 2011 registered a case against him, his wife R Aadhilakshmi, and friend KSP Shanmuga Moorthy. V Shyamala, the investigating officer (IO), filed a detailed final report in the Madurai special court in 2012. The case was later transferred to the Srivilliputhur Special Court.

After the DMK came to power in 2021, K Ramachandran, the new IO, submitted an intimation for further investigation under Section 173 (8) of CrPC and then gave a clean chit to the accused. Though this was diametrically opposite to the previous conclusion, Principal Judge V Thilaham accepted it as the final report and discharged all the accused in July.

On August 23, last year Justice N Anand Venkatesh initiated suo motu against the discharge of the minister from the DA case and wrote "When the investigation officers in corruption cases start dancing to the lullabies of politicians in power, the concept of fair and impartial investigation would be reduced to a mere charade, "