CHENNAI: Finding that there is prima facie material for framing charges, the Madras High Court has dismissed a petition filed by a commercial tax officer seeking to discharge him from the sensational gutkha scam linked to the AIADMK regime in the state.
The petition was filed by VS Kurinji Selvan, who was serving the commercial tax department as deputy commissioner when the raids were conducted at a gutkha factory in Red Hills on January 21, 2013.
He was accused of receiving Rs 50, 000 for de-sealing the factory and continuing to get the same amount regularly for three or four months. He was subsequently charged under sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The case is pending with the special court for trial of cases against MPs and MLAs. He moved the court to discharge him from the case but it was rejected on January 30, 2026. Challenging it, he filed a criminal revision case in the high court.
He had stated that no offence was made out against him in the CBI investigation into the gutkha scam but the charges were made against him only in the supplementary charge sheet which was filed four years later.
Justice AD Jagadish Chandira, in his recent order, statstated, “Based on the materials, this court prima facie finds there do exist sufficient materials against the petitioner for framing of charges.
“Hence, this court finds there is no infirmity or perversity in the impugned order warranting interference.”
