Madras High Court calls for DVAC inquiry report into 2018 complaint over irregularities in T.N. Secretariat construction

Madras HC directs TN govt to submit DVAC inquiry report on irregularities in Assembly-cum-Secretariat complex construction in sealed cover. Bench seeks report by Oct 3, after former MP impleads himself in two writ appeals filed by State govt.

The Madras High Court on Tuesday, September 26, directed the Tamil Nadu government to submit in a sealed cover the result of an inquiry conducted by Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption (DVAC) into a complaint lodged by AIADMK former MP J. Jayavardhan in 2018 alleging various irregularities in the construction of a new Assembly-cum-Secretariat complex which is now being used as a multi super speciality hospital at Omandurar estate in Chennai.

A Division Bench of Justices D. Krishnakumar and P.B. Balaji asked Advocate General (A-G) R. Shunmugasundaram to ensure that the inquiry report was submitted in the court by October 3. The direction was issued during the hearing of two petitions filed by the former Member of Parliament to implead himself in a couple of writ appeals filed by the State government in 2019 against incumbent Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan.

The appeals were filed during the AIADMK regime against a single judge’s December 13, 2018 order quashing a September 24, 2018 Government Order through which a DVAC inquiry was ordered regarding alleged irregularities into the construction of the Assembly-cum-Secretariat complex between 2008 and 2010 when Mr. Stalin and Mr. Duraimurugan had served as Deputy Chief Minister and Public Works Department Minister respectively.

However, on July 13, 2023 the Government Pleader submitted a letter to the Registrar (Judicial) of the High Court for withdrawing the writ appeals. Thereafter, on July 24, 2023, the former MP filed petitions wanting to implead himself as one of the parties in the two appeals. Alleging political motive behind the move of the former MP, the A-G urged the court to dismiss his plea since he could not have any say in the matter between the court and the State.

Justice Krishnakumar told the A-G that the Bench would have rejected the impleading petitions if the petitioner was a newcomer who had nothing to do with the case in the past. However, since he claimed to have already lodged a complaint in this regard with the DVAC in 2018 itself, the judges wanted to know the result of that complaint before taking a call on the present plea for getting impleaded as a party to the writ appeals.

When the A-G said the DVAC had indeed conducted a preliminary inquiry into his complaint but did not find any substance, the judges asked the inquiry report to be submitted in the court in a sealed cover.