Madras HC directs special court to frame charges against TN minister

Chennai: The Madras High Court, on Wednesday, instructed a Special Court in Vellore district to proceed with framing charges against DMK General Secretary and Tamil Nadu Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan, along with his family members, in a disproportionate wealth case.

Justice P. Velmurugan issued this directive while allowing revision petitions filed by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC), which contested an earlier order by the Special Court in Vellore that had discharged Duraimurugan and his family from the case.

The judge stated that, given the check period for the case spanned from 1996 to 2001, the Special Court must conclude the trial within six months by conducting the trial on a day-to-day basis.

The prosecution alleged that Duraimurugan had accumulated wealth amounting to Rs 3.92 crore, both in his name and in the names of his relatives, which was disproportionate to his known sources of income during his tenure as the Public Works Department Minister between 1996 and 2001.

On February 23, 2007, the Special Court in Vellore dismissed charges against Duraimurugan, his wife D. Santhakumari, his brother Durai Singaram, his son D.M. Kathir Anand (currently a Vellore Lok Sabha MP), and his daughter-in-law K. Sangeetha in a 2002 case filed under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

However, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) contested this decision by filing revision petitions in March 2012. Justice P. Velmurugan, upon reviewing these petitions, issued the directives mentioned earlier.

(inputs from PTI)