CHENNAI: The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) sought four weeks’ time from the Madras High Court to respond to a complaint seeking a probe into the alleged amassing of disproportionate assets by former Tamil Nadu Higher Education Minister KP Anbalagan.
M Krishnamoorthy, ex-president of Molaiyanur village panchayat in Dharmapuri, filed a petition before the Madras High Court seeking a direction to DVAC to register a case for probing the complaint he had lodged against the ex-minister.
When the matter came up for hearing before Justice M Nirmal Kumar on Friday, the petitioner’s counsel S Duraisamy said no action had been taken ever since the complaint was lodged with the DVAC. State Public Prosecutor (SPP) Hassan Mohammed Jinnah said the complaint had been awaiting permission from the government for initiating investigation. He sought four weeks’ time from the court for filing a reply. Allowing the petition, the judge gave DVAC the time it sought.
The petitioner alleged that Anbalagan, who held the Higher Education portfolio from 2016-2021, had purchased properties worth Rs 600 crore and made investments in several places including neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
He also charged that the former minister had misappropriated government funds worth Rs 150 crore and favoured his close relatives for government contracts with a cumulative value of Rs 800 crore.
RGGGH to get ward for disability certificates
Chennai: The Madras High Court has ordered setting up of a special ward at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) for accident victims who seek disability certificates to claim their compensation. Justice Krishnan Ramasamy issued the orders on a petition filed by C Jagadeesan, an autorickshaw driver, who was injured in a road accident at T Nagar in 2014. Jagadeesan, who had spent Rs 1.75 lakh towards his treatment, had sought compensation through the motor vehicle accident claim tribunal. The tribunal, however, asked him to obtain a disability certificate from RGGGH, where he was treated in 2018. Also aggrieved over the treatment meted out to him at the hospital, he approached the court. Jagadeesan’s advocate contended that he suffered mental and physical disabilities at the hospital
ACJ Bhandari to take charge tomorrow
Chennai: Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari, who was recently transferred from the Allahabad High Court, will assume charge as the Acting Chief Justice (ACJ) of the Madras High Court on Monday. Currently, Justice M Duraiswamy holds the position of ACJ, as he is the senior-most judge at the HC. Bhandari will become the senior-most when he is sworn in. Assuming the office, Bhandari will be given a welcome at the HC premises. The advocate general, chairman of Bar Council of TN and Puducherry, presidents of Madras High Court Advocates Association, Madras Bar Association, Women Lawyers Association and the Law Association, will deliver address at the function. Before becoming a judge, Bhandari practised at the Rajasthan HC at Jodhpur and Jaipur, and in the Supreme Court as a lawyer