CHENNAI: Madras High Court on Friday, February 11, 2022, ordered the Tamil Nadu government to furnish a copy of the report of Justice Kalaiyarasan inquiry commission to former Vice-Chancellor of Anna University MK Surappa so that his explanation could be part of the inquiry proceedings before being forwarded to the Governor who is the Chancellor of the varsity.
Justice V Parthiban passed the orders on a petition filed by the former VC regarding the matter.
“Nevertheless in the face of certain detrimental findings in the report, the petitioner’s explanation and his version must be part of the inquiry proceedings as his vindication,” he said.
Before referring the inquiry report to the Governor, a copy of it should be furnished to Surappa, the judge ordered and directed the State to provide it within two weeks.
The Ex-VC was given four weeks time to respond to the findings of the report.
Thereafter the government can take whatever action it wants to, the judge said.
Negating the stand taken by the State that the government was not inclined to furnish him the inquiry report but he could obtain it from the Governor, Justice Parthiban noted failure to furnish the inquiry report at this stage will inexorably lead to travesty of justice, of course, fair play and good conscience.
He further stated the government can’t be oblivious of the law of the land and can’t say it cannot supply the copy of the report.
Surappa, whose tenure with Tamil Nadu’s premier institution of technical education ended in 2021, has been waging a legal battle after the previous AIADMK government instituted the inquiry against him on alleged corruption, maladministration and irregularities in appointments.
However, he countered the move by saying that it was nothing but victimisation for his resistance to the misappropriation of funds and materials by the then Minister for Higher Education KP Anbalagan.
He had also confronted the then government on the issue of giving all pass to students even without taking the examinations due to the lockdown induced by the first wave of Covid-19 pandemic.
When he approached High Court, it had restrained the government from acting upon the findings of the inquiry.