CHENNAI : Expressing deep pain and anguish over the remarks made by the Madras High Court in its order dated August 3 regarding the inquiry commissions appointed by the State government, retired judge R Regupathi heading the inquiry commission on the alleged irregularities in the construction of the new secretariat demitted office on August 13. In his eight-page letter to Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan, Regupathi charged that the delay in completing the task assigned to him was not due to any listlessness on the part of the commission but due to the administrative lethargy of the registry of the Madras High Court in not listing the Vacate Stay Petitions for a period of three long years. He pointed out that the HC, in its order dated March 12, 2015, directed that the commission should not proceed further till the writ petition filed against the functioning of the commission was finally disposed of.
Giving a detailed account of the work already done by the commission, Regupathi said “Justice SM Subramaniam, in his order on August 3, said, ‘the State government should issue an order within one week, suspending Justice R Regupathi Commission of Inquiry and stop all further allotment of funds including the perquisites and government facilities, till final disposal of the writ petitions.’’’
Stating that though he had not received any communication in this regard from the government, Regupathi said, “Probity demands that I should demit the office assigned on December 2, 2011 to inquire into the irregularities in he construction of new secretariat.” He also recalled that even before hearing the arguments of the counsels, Justice SM Subramaniam had passed several unwarranted oral comments to mean that public money was being wasted for establishment of commissions. He said that when he was appointed as head of inquiry commission on the collapse of multi-storeyed buildings at Moulivakkam, he completed the assignment within 45 days and report was given to the then Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.
Eight-page letter
In an eight-page letter to Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan, Justice Regupathi has charged that the delay in completing the task assigned to him was not due to any listlessness on the part of the commission but due to the administrative lethargy of the registry of the Madras High Court in not listing the Vacate Stay Petitions for a period of three long years