Debangana Ray
Published on June 28, 2022 at 19:51 IST
Former minister SP Velumani’s fresh bid to quash the corruption cases against him failed when the Madras High Court refused to stay the probe by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-corruption (DVAC).
The multi-crore case is relating to allegations of corruption and allotting tenders in Chennai and Coimbatore corporations.
The bench comprising of Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice N Mala passed the order while refusing any interim relief to the former minister.
Velumani has moved a fresh petition seeking to quash the FIRs registered against him by DVAC.
In 2019, a coordinate bench directed the DVAC to conduct preliminary investigation into the allegations of corruption. In December 2019, the DVAC gave clean chit to the former minister.
After DMK formed the government, it filed a fresh FIR again. Since Velumani’s request to get a copy of the preliminary inquiry was rejected by the high court, he approached the Supreme court.
Now, moving a fresh petition seeking to quash the FIRs, Velumani contended that the allegations made against him were tainted with malicious intention.
Claiming the FIR was registered without permission of the then governor, he said, unless proceedings of the FIR are stayed, the petitioner would be unnecessarily put to untold hardship and irreparable loss to his reputation.