Chennai: The Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court (Economic Offence-II), Egmore at Allikulam directed the Superintendent of Central Prison, Parappana Agrahara, Bengaluru to produce V.N. Sudharakan, now lodged in prison in Bengaluru along with his aunt and AIADMK (Amma) General Secretary V.K. Sasikala and J.Ilavarasi in disproportionate asset case, before the court on June 20. The court would frame charges against him in a FERA case registered against him by the Enforcement Directorate two decades ago.
Meanwhile, the Superintendent of Central Prison sent a communication stating that the police were unable to comply with the direction of producing Sudharakan and escort him to the court due to security reasons. The official stated that as the session in Karnataka Assembly is to go on until June 16 and police were deployed to control various agitations, the cops were unable to escort him to the court. The official also informed the Court that Tamil Nadu police were reluctant to escort him to the court. When the matter was taken up, Judge S Malarmathy summoned Sudharakan to the court on June 20 and adjourned the matter to the same day for issuing charge sheet to him.
When the matter came up for hearing on May 10, Judge S.Malarmathy ordered Prisoners' Transit warrant to Sudharakan to appear before the court on June 7 for framing charges in the FERA case. The judge also directed another accused — his brother Bhaskaran — to appear before the court on June 7. The case relates to the illegal exchange of foreign currencies for the Super Duper TV during 1995-96. Sudhakaran also filed a petition to answer the charges against him through video conferencing facility from the prison. The court has directed Bhaskaran to appear before the court on June 20 without fail.
Meanwhile, the court has adjourned the hearing on two-decade-old Lexus luxury case to July 4. With an intention of avoiding payment of import duty, the vehicle was declared as a used car and imported from the UK.
Sasikala's husband M Natarajan, along with three others - his nephew V Bhaskaran, Yogesh Balakrishnan and Sujaritha Sundararajan - substituted the original sale invoice with a photocopy of an invoice fabricated by changing the vehicle's manufacturing date to July 1993. In 1994, the car worth several crores was imported from the UK and was presented as a wedding gift to Bhaskaran,
The court adjourned the matter as a witness failed to attend the court due to ill-health.
