Chennai Court Orders Fresh Probe Into Corruption Case Against DMK MLA R Vaithilingam

Chennai: A special court in Chennai on Friday accepted the Tamil Nadu government's request to reinvestigate a corruption case against former AIADMK minister and current DMK MLA R Vaithilingam, which it had planned to close about two months ago. The Principal Judge of a Sessions Court in Chennai directed the state's Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) to conduct the reinvestigation expeditiously and submit its report within three months.

The development comes 45 days after an exclusive Free Press Journal (FPJ) report exposed how the outgoing DMK government, led by then Chief Minister M K Stalin, had sought to close the corruption case against Vaithilingam barely a month after he switched from the AIADMK to the DMK. The case relates to allegations that, as housing minister during the 2011-16 AIADMK government, he accepted a Rs 27.9 crore bribe from real estate firm Shriram Properties and Infrastructure Ltd in 2016 to facilitate planning permission for one of its projects. In its closure report, the DVAC said it could not establish any conclusive or corroborative evidence to substantiate allegations of illegal gratification or personal gain by Vaithilingam or any other public servant involved in granting the planning permission.

Curiously, the DVAC maintained its stand on closing the case while appearing before the court on June 4, despite the new TVK government taking office on May 10 under Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, who had promised action against alleged irregularities during the DMK regime. The FPJ report prompted the newly sworn-in TVK government to reverse its stand before the Sessions Court by filing a petition seeking a reinvestigation. A senior official confirmed that the newspaper's report prompted the change in the government's position.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which has also completed its money laundering investigation and filed a chargesheet, moved a protest petition against the earlier closure report. Sources said the ED had sent multiple communications to the DVAC, sharing details of its investigation that could aid the state agency's probe. The closure of the DVAC case would also have effectively ended the ED case, as the former constitutes the predicate offence for the money laundering investigation. Chennai-based NGO Arappor Iyakkam, the original complainant in the case, also moved the court opposing the closure report.