The Supreme Court Bench said that the high court had passed a reasoned order and that it was not inclined to interfere with it.
The case is regarding amassing of assets disproportionate to his earnings during his tenure as the chief minister for four months and as revenue minister from 2001 to 2006.
The Supreme Court, on Friday, 1 March, dismissed a plea by former Tamil Nadu chief minister O Panneerselvam challenging a Madras High Court order issuing notice to him and his relatives in a case it had initiated on its own over their discharge in a disproportionate assets case.
A Bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and Prashant Kumar Mishra said that the high court had passed a reasoned order and was not inclined to interfere with it.
“We may, however, observe that the observations made by the judge in the impugned order are to be considered only for the purpose of the notice order and those observations should have no bearing in deciding the criminal revision finally,” the Bench said.
The high court had, on 31 August last year, issued notice to Paneerselvam and some of his relatives on a criminal revision case it had initiated on its own.
The judge said, “This is a case where a political personage has manoeuvred the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC), the state government, and the court to ensure that the trial against him was derailed.”
The court directed Paneerselvam, his wife Vijayalakshmi (since deceased), his son Ravindranathkumar, his brothers O Raja and O Balamurugan and their wives to remain present before it for the hearing.
The trial court had discharged them in the DA case in 2012.
The DVAC had alleged that Paneerselvam amassed assets in his name and those of his relatives that was 374 times disproportionate to his known sources of income during his tenure as the chief minister for four months and subsequently as revenue minister from 2001 to 2006.
Narrating the sequence of events and pointing out the flaws in the procedure followed by the prosecution and the trial court, the high court judge had said it once again revealed a calculated attempt by those wielding political power to distort and subvert the course of criminal justice.
In its order, the high court observed that in two earlier cases the court noticed a pattern of the DVAC launching prosecution under the Prevention of Corruption Act against Opposition MLAs, which later culminated in filing of charge sheets before a special court in Srivilliputhur.
“Upon a change of government, the Opposition MLAs found themselves in the saddle as Cabinet Ministers. Realising that the winds had changed direction, the DVAC quickly intimated the Special Court of their intention to conduct further investigation. Under the guise of further investigation, the conclusions arrived at in the earlier final report were then clinically wiped out under the guise of filing a final closure report.
“These final closure reports were then presented to the Special Court as a fait accompli to secure the discharge of the accused,” the judge added.
He was apparently referring to DMK ministers Thangam Thennarasu and KKSSR Ramachandran against whom the court has initiated on its own similar revision cases following their acquittal by a local court in DA cases earlier.
The high court had said when a political party comes to power in Tamil Nadu, the DVAC “swoops down” on the Opposition and clamps cases of corruption.
However, no prosecution for corruption ends in five years, which is the life span of an elected government in the state.
“Invariably, the Opposition is voted back to power and the DVAC, like the puppets in The Muppets show, will have to perforce sing a different tune in tandem with its political masters,” the judge had said.
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