The Supreme Court on Monday issued a stay on the Madras High Court’s order which had directed a CBI investigation into corruption allegations against K T Rajenthra Bhalaji, a former AIADMK minister, involved in a cash-for-job scam. The stay was granted by a bench consisting of Justices Pankaj Mithal and S V N Bhatti, following pleas from the Tamil Nadu government challenging the High Court’s directive.
On January 6, the Madras High Court had mandated a CBI probe after noting non-compliance by the Tamil Nadu government with its prior directive to file a chargesheet in the case. The Supreme Court has now requested the Tamil Nadu government to submit translated documents to the governor’s secretariat within two weeks, urging the governor’s office to expedite its decision on the pending sanction for prosecution.
During the proceedings, the Supreme Court restrained the CBI from conducting further investigations until a decision is made regarding the sanction. Senior Advocate Amit Anand Tiwari, representing the Tamil Nadu government, argued before the bench that a chargesheet had indeed been filed by the state police, contradicting the High Court’s findings. He emphasized that the sanction for the ongoing investigation under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act was already sought, with another application under Section 19 still pending before the Tamil Nadu governor. The delay was attributed to the governor’s request for English translations of the documents initially submitted in Tamil.
Arguing on behalf of the former minister, Senior Advocate V Giri contended that there were insufficient grounds for transferring the case to the CBI and questioned the rationale behind such a decision. Conversely, Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra, representing the complainant, accused the Tamil Nadu government of trying to protect the former minister.
