Chennai, Sep 2 (IANS) The Madras High Court on Wednesday directed the Tamil Nadu government to constitute a special investigation team led by a senior IPS officer to expedite the probe into alleged large-scale corruption at Madurai Central Prison and file a final report before the competent criminal court within four months.
A Division Bench comprising Justices S.M. Subramaniam and M. Jothiraman warned that it may consider transferring the investigation to another agency if the state government and the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) failed to comply with the direction.
The alleged irregularities relate to the supply of stationery manufactured at Madurai Central Prison to district courts and other government offices between June 1, 2019, and June 30, 2021.
Earlier, P. Pugalenthi had approached the court claiming that information obtained under the Right to Information Act revealed serious discrepancies in the supplies.
According to him, prison officials allegedly prepared inflated bills showing that large quantities of stationery had been supplied, though the actual quantities delivered were considerably lower.
He alleged that the manipulation of bills had resulted in the misappropriation of several crores of rupees in public funds and sought a detailed investigation by the DVAC.
The court, however, said that his petition was not maintainable as sufficient material had not been produced to substantiate the allegations.
It granted him liberty to file a fresh petition with supporting documents, following which his counsel withdrew the plea.
The issue subsequently arose during the hearing of a petition filed by M. Gokila, whose husband Murugaiyan is a convict lodged at Puzhal Central Prison.
She sought 60 days’ remission for her husband and payment of four months of wage arrears allegedly due to him.
During the hearing, her counsel urged the court to direct the authorities to accelerate the Madurai prison corruption probe, saying that further delay could enable those involved to evade prosecution.
The Additional Public Prosecutor submitted that the DVAC required additional time to complete its detailed inquiry.
Besides ordering the constitution of the special team, the Bench directed the state government to continue departmental disciplinary proceedings simultaneously.
It clarified that the pendency of criminal proceedings would not prevent disciplinary action against officials.
The state government was directed to collect relevant records, frame charges under applicable service rules and conclude the departmental proceedings expeditiously.
–IANS
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