At a time when the DMK along with the Congress party is taking a moral high ground against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ruling BJP in the centre, a judicial stricture against one of DMK's ministers, who is in Enforcement Directorate (ED) radar, has sent shock waves down the spine to party seniors.
Madras High Court Justice N. Anand Venkatesh’s 17-page order on Thursday was a rare move that has sent ripples in the judicial circle and shivers down the spine in the political circle, particularly to those in the ruling party. Perhaps, this is the first time a Judge has taken a case suo moto questioning the legality of a case closed by a lower court.
In a strongly worded verdict, Venkatesh ripped apart the manner in which the disproportionate assets case against Higher Education Minister K. Ponmudy and his wife P. Visalakshi was transferred from the Villupuram District Court to Vellore District Court. The case was registered against Ponmudy in 2002, for holding assets disproportionate to his income when he served as minister between 1996 and 2001. The Judge ordered notices to Minister Ponmudy, Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC), the agency which probed the case in 2002. The court has listed the case for hearing on September 7.
“It is clear that where a manifest illegality by a criminal court resulting in gross failure of justice comes to the notice of the High Court, it is the bounden duty of the High Court as a constitutional court to set right the illegality and to ensure that public confidence in the criminal justice system is maintained,” Justice Venkatesh said in his order on Thursday. He also said that the narrative reveals a “shocking and calculated attempt to manipulate and subvert the criminal justice system. The curious and dubious transfer of the case followed by the trail and judgment of the Principal District Judge, Vellore, are wholly illegal and are nullities in the eyes of law.”
However, the order seems to have shuddered the ministers and DMK seniors who have tried to close the predicate office against each of them. Sources say that the MP/MLA court could look into several other cases which were dismissed in the lower courts recently. It is said that Revenue Minister K.K.S.S.R. Ramachandran, Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu and Fisheries Minister Anita.R.Radhakrishnan could be in trouble.