CHENNAI: Justice G Jayachandran of Madras High Court on Thursday told the CB-CID to obtain the prior permission of the court before summoning BJP’s state organisation secretary Kesava Vinayagam in connection with the seizure of Rs 3.99 crore, allegedly meant for distributing to voters, from three employees of the party leader Nainar Nagendran’s hotel.
The judge also observed that asking the leader to hand over his mobile phone and sim card may amount to harassment. However, the judge refused to quash the FIR against him. Advocate Paul Kanagaraj, appearing for Kesava Vinayagam, alleged that the police are trying to harass him by sending summons seeking the handing over of his mobile phone and sim card just a day after he had appeared before the investigating agency.
The government advocate said the mobile phone and sim card were required to ascertain the place where he was stationed at the time the money was seized in order to establish his involvement.