Madras HC sets aside GO asking Regupathy panel to hand over records to DVAC

Chennai: The Madras high court has set aside a GO, which directed the secretary to Justice R.Regupathy Commission of Inquiry, appointed to probe the alleged irregularities in the construction of new secretariat during the DMK regime, to hand over all the records, reports of the investigating agencies, statements and the evidences collected by it to the Director of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption.

Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana also set aside the consequential letter issued by the government according permission to the Director of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption, to conduct detailed enquiry and send a report to the government. The judge allowed the petitions filed by DMK President M. K. Stalin and DMK treasurer M.Duraimurugan, challenging the G.O and the consequential letter issued by the government.

Concurring with the submission of senior counsel P.Wilson, appearing for the petitioner, that the GO was not passed in accordance with the interim order of the single judge, the judge said a reading of the GO in its entirety would go to show that the government has not even cared to receive the files from the commission, much less to read and make out a prima facie case for referring the matter to the Director of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption. Since no subjective satisfaction of the government was arrived at before handing over the papers to the Director of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption, the GO itself was passed in violation of the interim order passed by this court, the judge added. The judge said the interim order of the single judge was passed on August 3, 2018, the death of the petitioner (M.Karunanidhi) was on August 7, the one man commission demitted the office on August 10 and the petitions were closed (as abated) on September 20, whereas, the state had passed the order directing the secretary to the Commission to hand over the records to the DVAC only on September 24, without realizing the fact that the Commission of Inquiry had not even filed a report based on the materials collected. Though the state government had ample time, the G.O was passed in a hasty manner and the consequential letter was issued according enquiry permission to DVAC.