Justice Ragupathi commission demits office on Madras High Court order

Chennai: A week after Madras high court passed an order suspending Justice R. Ragupathi Commission of Inquiry, set up by the AIADMK government to probe into alleged irregularities in construction of the new secretariat building during the DMK rule at Omandurar Government estate, the former judge of Madras high court Justice Ragupathi tendered his resignation with effect from August 10.

On August 3, Justice S. M Subramaniam directed the state government to suspend Justice R Raghupathi Commission of inquiry within a week and to stop all further allotment of funds and Government facilities, till the final disposal of the writ petitions. Following the order, the Justice Raghupathi sent a communication to the chief secretary on August 13, stating that he demits the assignment with effect from August 10. He handed over Innova car, which was given to him by the government and a computer along with the printer to the secretary of the commission.

 Stating that commission has been diligent in speedy accomplishment of the task, Justice R. Ragupathi, in the letter, stated its enquiry was delayed due to the administration of high court.  “As a former judge of Madras high court, imbibed with a deep sense of social responsibility, although I desired to concentrate on other works, I readily accepted the assignment to do best I can,” he said. 

 Recalling legal hurdles faced by the commission, he said that on a writ petition from public servants, Madras high court on September 17, 2014, ordered that petitioners need not appear in person before the commission. While hearing second batch of writ petitions, along with stay petitions, the Madras HC, on March 12, 2015, ordered that the commission should not proceed further with the matter till the writ petition is finally heard and disposed of. 

The Advocate General requested the court for early hearing of the writ petitions to enable the commission to proceed with the task. However, the court rejected the plea. Subsequently, vacate stay petitions were filed by the commission as early as August 27, 2015. The government and commission made several requests to the high court registry to take up and list the matter. However, it became a futile exercise.

Justice Ragupathi said when the vacate stay petitions came up for hearing on August 3, before the judge, the Advocate General and additional advocate general submitted that delay was not caused either by commission or by state government and it was only by the high court administration.

 He said the order passed within one hour on completion of the arguments and order contains extraneous and irrelevant matters. And, it was not passed on merits and it seems to be unconstitutional..

 In the order the court itself admitted that delay was caused by the HC owing to heavy workload. While that being the case, unassailable fact and truth, passing unwarranted comments against the retired judges functioning, as commission of inquiry is reprehensible and erroneous and sharply damaged reputation of all the commissions of inquiry. 

The order has failed to observe as to how the direction could be executed and under what provisions of procedural and penal law, he noted.