The Madras High Court on Wednesday called for a report from the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti- Corruption (DVAC) to know the status of a detailed inquiry into the allegation that former Food Minister R. Kamaraj, of the AIADMK, had caused a loss of around ₹350 crore to the exchequer in the procurement of essential commodities.
Justice A.D. Jagadish Chandira asked government counsel to ensure that the report was filed by November 15. The direction was issued on a writ petition filed by the complainant, Va. Pugalendhi, a former AIADMK member, alleging a sloppy inquiry despite the complaint having been filed in 2018.
The petitioner told the court that former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had banned the procurement of Masoor dhal, for the public distribution system, because of certain ill effects. However, after her death in December 2016, Mr. Kamaraj recommenced its procurement when he was the Food Minister in Edappadi K. Palaniswami’s Cabinet in 2017-18. Claiming that the dhal was procured at an exorbitant price from a select contractor, the complainant alleged that a similar irregularity in the procurement of palm oil and other commodities caused a heavy loss to the exchequer and an unlawful gain to the Minister and others.
The petitioner stated that his 2018 complaint was put in cold storage and only after the DMK came to power did he receive a reply from the DVAC on March 9, 2022, that a detailed inquiry was being conducted. He urged the court to issue a direction for the inquiry to be completed in a time-bound manner.
When Justice Chandira wanted to know the reason for the slow pace of the inquiry, the Government Advocate said three identical complaints had been received by the DVAC and the agency had conducted a preliminary inquiry before taking up a detailed inquiry.
He said the issue required examination of voluminous tender documents and the DVAC had so far inquired with 15 officials of the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation.
