The Madras High Court has instructed the Accountant General of Tamil Nadu to conduct a thorough audit of the Tamil Nadu Victim Compensation Fund. This directive aims to verify the authenticity of the payments disbursed to victims, as stated by a division bench consisting of Justices S M Subramaniam and M Jothiraman. The decision came as an interim order in response to a petition filed by M Depalaksmi, the wife of convict prisoner Senthilkumar-Mudikondan, who is currently housed in Vellore central prison.
Depalaksmi’s petition requested that the court ensure her husband continues to receive A-Class privileges in prison. The counsel for Depalaksmi highlighted that 20 percent of the prisoner’s salary was being deducted to contribute towards victim compensation. Additionally, the petition referenced a 2018 newspaper report indicating that approximately Rs 11.61 crore from the Victim Compensation Fund remained unutilized within the prison department.
In response, the court has set a two-week deadline for the audit to be completed across all eight central prisons in Tamil Nadu. The findings from the Accountant General of Tamil Nadu (Audit) are expected to be submitted to the court by January 30, 2025.
