Madras High Court gives two months to conclude Fera case on T T V Dhinakaran
Chennai: The Madras High Court has granted another two months time to Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM), (EO-II), Egmore, for concluding the trial in a two-decade-old FERA violation case against the rebel AIADMK leader and MLA T.T.V. Dhinakaran.
Justice, M.S. Ramesh granted two months based on a letter written by ACMM to the Registry of the Madras high court, seeking an extension of time by another two months to conclude the main proceedings in the FERA violation case.
According to Enforcement Directorate, as the sole director of the M Dipper Investments Limited, a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, Dhinakaran had transferred 1 crore US dollars without RBI permission. The company maintained a bank account in the UK with Barclays bank Sutton, Surrey and during the year 1994 about 21 cheques, totalling the value of US$ 1,04,93,313 were deposited in the account of M/s Dipper Investments in the Barclays Bank.
The money was transferred through a person who was not an authorised dealer in foreign exchange and without general or special permission of the RBI. Dhinakaran had earlier filed a petition stating that his request for one day’s time to advance his arguments was rejected by the ACMM and charges were framed against him on April 19, 2017.
Allowing the petition, the judge had on July 24 set aside the charges framed against him and directed the ACMM to grant one-day time for him to put forth his arguments with regard to framing of charges on or before July 31 and then proceed with the trial and conclude the proceedings within 3 months.
The ACMM had on November 17, 2017, wrote the present letter to the Registry of the Madras high court seeking an extension of time by two more months. Though the case was registered in 1996, the Enforcement Directorate could not proceed with the case due to several rounds of litigations. Dhinakaran was also discharged from the case. However, the Madras High Court had on February 1, 2017, set aside the order of the lower court, discharging him from the case.
