Disproportionate assets case: Supreme Court stays Madras HC order directing T.N. Ministers Ramachandran and Thennarasu to face trial

Supreme Court stays Madras High Court order on Tamil Nadu Ministers in disproportionate assets cases.

The Supreme Court on Friday (September 6, 2024) imposed an interim stay on Madras High Court order setting aside trial court orders discharging Tamil Nadu Revenue Minister K.K.S.S.R. Ramachandran and Finance Minister Thangam Thennrasu from disproportionate assets cases.

A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and P K Mishra issued notice to the Tamil Nadu government on an appeal filed by the Ministers. The matter is posted for hearing after four weeks.

The apex court passed the order after senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the parties in the case, argued that the procedure adopted by the High Court in setting aside the discharge in a suo motu criminal revision was not correct.

The lawyers submitted that the the High Court, while exercising criminal revision, could not have held that the closure reports filed by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) were not acceptable.

Tamil Nadu Advocate General Pattabhi Sundar Raman submitted that the Tamil Nadu government was planning to file a special leave petition against the order as it interfered with the findings of the DVAC.

Setting aside trial court orders discharging Mr. Ramachandran and Mr. Thenarasu from disproportionate assets cases, the Madras High Court had on August 7 directed the lower court to frame charges against them.

Passing an order on the criminal revision petition, Justice N Anand Venkatesh set aside the orders of the Special Court for MPs and MLAs cases, Virudhunagar, dated July 20, 2023 and December 12, 2022 respectively, discharging Ramachandran and Thennarasu from the disproportionate wealth cases.