Madurai Bench of the Madras HC bins Jaya death panel advisory to probe former minister Vijayabaskar

Vijayabaskar stated in his petition that he had been called by the commission only as a witness and no notice was issued to him before ordering the investigation.
Former Tamil Nadu Health Minister C Vijayabaskar.
Former Tamil Nadu Health Minister C Vijayabaskar. (File | P Jawahar, EPS)
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MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Monday quashed a portion of the Justice A Arumughaswamy Commission report, which recommended a probe against former health minister C Vijayabaskar in connection with the death of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa.

The court also quashed the consequent G.O. passed by the state to act against Vijayabaskar and a few others based on the report.

Justice GK Ilanthiraiyan passed the order on a petition filed by Vijayabaskar in 2023, seeking to quash relevant portions of the commission’s report dated August 23, 2022, and the G.O. issued by the state government on October 17, 2022.

The judge rejected the government’s contention that the petition is premature and observed that there is clear violation of Section 8B of the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952, which says that if any person’s reputation is likely to be prejudicially affected by the inquiry, the commission should give the person a reasonable opportunity of being heard and to produce evidence in his or her defence. The petitioner was neither given a notice under the above section nor was he given the opportunity to cross-examine the witnesses, the judge noted.

Since there is an infirmity in the report so far as the observations against the petitioner were concerned, the consequential G.O. passed against him is also unsustainable, the judge observed and quashed the relevant portions of the report and the G.O.

Vijayabaskar stated in his petition that he had been called by the commission only as a witness and no notice was issued to him before ordering the investigation. His reputation has taken a toll owing to the ‘baseless findings’ made in the commission’s report merely based on assumptions and surmises, the judge added.

The commission had observed that it is surprising that being the health minister, Vijayabaskar did not take necessary measures to take the late chief minister abroad for treatment. It had also alleged that Vijayabaskar was the main tool used by VK Sasikala and the Apollo hospital doctors to thwart the attempts to take Jayalalithaa abroad, he said.

Judge rejects state government’s contention

The judge rejected the government’s contention that the petition is premature, and observed that there is clear violation of Section 8B of the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952, which says that if any person’s reputation is likely to be prejudicially affected by the inquiry, the commission should give the person a reasonable opportunity of being heard and to produce evidence in his or her defence

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