Madras High Court grants six months for DVAC to conclude inquiry against former Food Minister R.Kamaraj

HC fixes 6-mo. outer limit for DVAC to complete inquiry into ₹350cr loss to public exchequer by AIADMK's R. Kamaraj & others. Judge grants 6-mo. time to DVAC to examine 24,000 pages of tender-related documents. SPP assures FIR to be filed if necessary within 6-mo. DVAC short-staffed, concentrating on multiple cases.

The Madras High Court on Tuesday fixed an outer limit of six months for Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) to complete its ‘detailed inquiry’ into complaints of former Food Minister R. Kamaraj of AIADMK and others of having caused loss of around ₹350 crore to the public exchequer in procurement of essential commodities between 2017 and 2018.

Justice A.D. Jagadish Chandira passed the orders on writ petitions filed by a former AIADMK member Va. Pugalendhi and anti-corruption organisation Arappor Iyakkam. The judge accepted a request made by State Public Prosecutor Hasan Mohamed Jinnah to grant six months’ time since the DVAC had to examine voluminous tender related documents running to 24,000 pages.

The SPP gave an assurance that the investigating agency would register a First Information Report, if necessary, within the next six months. When advocate V. Suresh, representing Arappor Iyakkam, complained that the DVAC had been keeping the matter pending for years together, the SPP said, the DVAC was short staffed and that it had to concentrate on multiple cases of similar nature.

After hearing both sides, the judge decided to grant six more months for completing the ‘detailed inquiry’ taken up after the conclusion of the ‘preliminary inquiry’ as per the DVAC manual.