Published Nov 12, 2026 | 5:14 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 12, 2026 | 5:14 PM
The contempt petition came up for hearing again on Thursday, 12 November before Justice N Anand Venkatesh.
Synopsis: The Centre has granted sanction to prosecute two IAS officers, KS Kandasamy and K Vijaya Karthikeyan, in the alleged ₹98 crore tender scam involving former Tamil Nadu Minister SP Velumani. The Madras High Court directed the DVAC to obtain the sanction order and proceed with filing the final report against the officers before the Special Court.
The Union government has informed the Madras High Court that it has granted sanction to prosecute two IAS officers accused in the alleged tender irregularities case involving former Tamil Nadu Minister SP Velumani.
The two officers, KS Kandasamy and K Vijaya Karthikeyan, have been accused in connection with alleged irregularities in the awarding of government contracts during the previous AIADMK regime.
The case relates to allegations that tenders worth several projects in municipal corporations, including Chennai and Coimbatore, were manipulated, resulting in irregularities amounting to approximately ₹98 crore. Arappor Iyakkam had filed a complaint alleging corruption in the tender process during the AIADMK government’s tenure.
Based on the complaint, proceedings were initiated against former Minister SP Velumani and others. Subsequently, Arappor Iyakkam filed a contempt of court petition against the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC), alleging that the agency had failed to implement the court’s direction to register a case against Velumani and others.
During the proceedings, the Madras High Court had, in September, directed the Union government to complete the process of granting prosecution sanction against the two IAS officers, Kandasamy and Vijaya Karthikeyan, within two months.
The contempt petition came up for hearing again on Thursday, 12 November before Justice N Anand Venkatesh.
Additional Solicitor General ARL Sundaresan, appearing on behalf of the Union government’s Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), filed a submission stating that the Centre had granted sanction to prosecute both IAS officers.
Representatives appearing for the Tamil Nadu government and the DVAC informed the court that the Centre’s order granting prosecution sanction against the officers was expected to be received on Thursday.
Following this, the judge directed the DVAC to obtain the Union government’s sanction order and proceed with the necessary steps to file the final report against the two IAS officers before the Special Court.
The court also said it would monitor further developments in the case and adjourned the hearing to 4 December.
The judge further ordered that the Union government, which had been impleaded as a respondent in the case, be removed from the proceedings.
Expressing concern over delays in the prosecution of corruption cases, Justice Anand Venkatesh observed that the case was a significant example of how criminal proceedings were being handled in the country.
The judge remarked that the wheels of the government machinery moved swiftly when dealing with poor people but had to be pushed into motion when action was required against influential individuals.
(Edited by Dese Gowda with inputs from Subash Chandra Bose)
