Submit report on officials facing graft charges; list action taken: Madras High Court to State

MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Courton Friday directed the State Government to file a detailed report on how many government officials across departments face corruption allegations and what departmental action has been taken against them.

A Division Bench comprising Justices P Velmurugan and KK Ramakrishnan also sought details of the cases registered against the officials and their current status.

The court issued the direction while hearing a petition filed by Sakthivel of Sivaganga district, alleging that government officials, including tahsildars, had misappropriated Rs 2.35 crore allocated for students staying in Adi Dravidar Welfare hostels between 2017 and 2023.

The petitioner also submitted that the police had registered an FIR and named eight tahsildars as accused. However, he alleged that no action had been taken against them.

Some of the tahsildars accused in the case had allegedly been promoted, while some others had been permitted to retire by the district collectors, the petitioner said.

Contending that the police were acting in favour of those accused of misappropriating government funds, the petitioner sought a direction to transfer the investigation to the Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID).

When the case came up for hearing, the Additional Advocate General, appearing for the State, submitted that investigating officers had been appointed and a chargesheet had been filed before the trial court.

When the judges observed that the government is functioning only with officials accused of corruption, the State’s counsel reportedly described the government as a “three-month-old baby” and sought more time.

The judges observed that governments might change, but government officials remained the same. They also questioned why officials accused of corruption continued to be retained in government service.

The Bench directed the State Government to submit the detailed report and adjourned the case.