The Madras High Court on Monday issued notice to the Tamil Nadu government on a petition filed by State Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan, who has challenged the jurisdiction of the Special Court for trying corruption cases in connection with a ₹1.40 crore disproportionate wealth case registered against him.
Justice V Lakshminarayanan heard the plea and directed the state to respond. The matter has been posted for further hearing on October 23.
The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) registered a disproportionate assets case in 2011 against Duraimurugan, who is also the General Secretary of the DMK, and his wife D. Shanthakumari. The case pertains to the period when Duraimurugan served as PWD Minister between 2006 and 2011 during the DMK regime.
The prosecution alleged that the couple had amassed assets worth ₹1.40 crore, disproportionate to their known sources of income, in their names during that period. The case was registered when the AIADMK government was in power.
In 2017, the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Court in Vellore discharged Duraimurugan and his wife from the case.
Challenging the discharge order, the DVAC filed a revision petition before the Madras High Court. Meanwhile, based on a Government Order (G.O.), the case was transferred to the Special Court for trial of corruption cases in Chennai.
Justice P Velmurugan, who heard the revision petition, set aside the discharge and directed the trial court to expedite the proceedings.
In the present petition, Duraimurugan has questioned the jurisdiction of the Special Court to hear the case. The High Court has sought the state’s response and will take up the matter again later this month.
