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Synopsis

The Madras High Court today set aside the discharge of incumbent Minister for Revenue and Disaster Management K.K.S.S.R Ramachandran, and Finance and Electricity Minister Thangam Thennarasu in two different disproportionate assets cases.

The cases have been restored to the Special Court for retrial on a day-to-day basis.

The bench of Justice N Anand Venkatesh had initiated suo motu criminal revision cases last year against the discharge of the Ministers while noting that the discharge orders in both cases revealed a well-orchestrated pattern.

As per court's observations, in both the cases, the Special Court had taken cognizance of the final reports in 2013/14. Discharge applications were filed, and the cases were adjourned for months and years on end till 2021. In 2021, the accused persons became Ministers in the State Cabinet and a few months thereafter the State prosecution very magnanimously came forward and offered to conduct “further investigation”. The product of this “further investigation” was a “closure report” tailored to support the grounds for discharge, the court had said.

The court had then opined that "something was very rotten in the Special Court for MP/MLA Cases at Srivilluputhur".

Ramachandran allegedly amassed disproportionate wealth as Health and Backward Classes Minister during the 2006-2011 DMK regime, along with his wife and friend. The DVAC initially booked them under the Prevention of Corruption Act but later, in July 2023, it filed a final report citing no established offenses and accepting this, the Special Court discharged the Minister.

During his tenure as the school education Minister in the 2006-2011 DMK regime, Thangam Thenarasu and his wife allegedly amassed disproportionate assets. The DVAC filed a case under PCA after searches at his residences in Virudhunagar and Chennai. Nonetheless, a final report indicating no offense led to his discharge by the Special Court in December 2023.

Case Title: Suo motu case against State, Thiru.K.K.S.S.R.Ramachandran and Others; Connected suo motu case against State, T.Thennarasu @ Thangam Thennarasu and T.Manimegalai