CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has set aside the charge sheet pending against MS Jaffar Sait, Director General of Police, CB CID, before the Special Court for Cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act here, last week. Justice P Rajamanickam quashed the final report while allowing a criminal original petition from Sait.
The charge sheet was filed alleging that the petitioner, an IPS officer, while working as Inspector General of Police, Intelligence, at Chennai between 2008 and 2010 and at other places, along with six other accused, had hatched a criminal conspiracy to abet each other in the commission of the offence of criminal breach of trust and the offence of criminal misconduct in connection with the allotment of plots under the government discretionary quota (GDQ) to the petitioner and his family members.
In pursuance of the conspiracy, the petitioner got a plot in Kamaraj Nagar in Tiruvanmiyur under the GDQ vide a GO dated April 4, 2008. A case was registered by the DVAC for offences under Sections 109, 120(B), 409 IPC and 13(2) r/w 13(1) (c) & (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act against the petitioner and other six accused.
Accepting the contentions of Jaffar Sait, the judge observed that since the petitioner is an IPS officer, for prosecuting him under the provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act, a sanction has to be obtained under Section 19 of the PCA. For prosecuting him for the IPCoffences also, another sanction is a must as per Section 197 of Cr.P.C. But no such sanction was obtained from the appropriate authority.
The trial court should not have taken the case on file without the production of the sanction order. The trial court, however, had taken the case on file based on the request made by the DVAC. But, the competent authority had denied nod for the prosecution. “Hence, this Court is of the view that the continuance of the proceedings against the petitioner would amount to abuse of process of court,” the judge said.
‘Maintain status-quo on shifting of musical instrument museum’
Chennai: A vacation bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday ordered that status quo be maintained in respect of shifting of ‘Sangita Vadyalaya’, a museum for rare ancient musical instruments from Chennai to New Delhi. A bench of Justices N Sathish Kumar and P T Asha granted the injunction while passing interim orders on a petition from P Subramanian, an exporter of handicraft from Kilpauk. The matter will be taken up on June 10.
According to petitioner, who is presently the president of Southern Handicrafts Industry Association, the ‘Vadyalaya’ was now located on Anna Salai, due to the efforts of Tadepalli Lokanatha Sarma. It housed 200 odd recreated instruments painstakingly collected by Sambamurthy and Lokanatha Sarma.
It was under the control of the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) in New Delhi. Now, the authorities are proposing to shift it to New Delhi without any intimation. Though the petitioner sent a representation on May 18 last against the proposal, it evoked no response.