T.N. Law Minister writes to Governor seeking nod for pending bills, prosecuting ex-Ministers

Tamil Nadu Law Minister S. Regupathy has written to Governor R. N. Ravi seeking his assent, without further delay, for 13 Bills and also for sanction to prosecute certain former AIADMK Ministers, who are facing corruption charges.

Tamil Nadu Law Minister S. Regupathy has written to Governor R. N. Ravi seeking his assent, without further delay, for 13 Bills and also for sanction to prosecute certain former AIADMK Ministers, who are facing corruption charges.

An official release issued on Wednesday, said Mr. Regupathy, in his letter, has pointed out that 13 Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are pending with the Governor for his assent (or to be reserved for the President as the case may be). Of these, two Bills have been pending for more than three years.

The letter has also pointed out that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has charged former Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar and former Commercial Taxes Minister B.V. Ramana in the gutkha scam and has sought sanction to prosecute them in the courts. The State Cabinet had forwarded CBI’s request to the Governor’s Office on September 12, 2022, it said. Unfortunately, no reply has been received to the letter and since there has been a long delay, no further action could be taken on the case, Mr. Regupathy noted in his letter.

Similarly, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) has sought sanction to prosecute former Minister for Commercial Taxes and Registration K.C. Veeramani, and former Transport Minister M.R. Vijayabhaskar, he added. The State Cabinet had forwarded the request for the Governor’s nod on September 12, 2022 and March 15, 2023 respectively but again, these have been pending with the Raj Bhavan since then, the letter stated.

The Governor has so far not given his necessary sanction to prosecute these former ministers on corruption charges, the Law Minister said.