A batch of six suo motu revision petitions taken up by the Madras High Court against the acquittal/discharge of four sitting Ministers, a former Chief Minister and a former Minister from various criminal cases have been listed before Justice N. Anand Venkatesh on Monday, under the caption ‘To fix a date for final hearing.’
Justice Venkatesh had taken up the suo motu revisions in August and September last year when he was holding the portfolio of MP/MLA cases. However, since he had to sit in the Madurai Bench for the ensuing three months, the cases were heard by Justice G. Jayachandran, between October 3 and December 22.
On December 5, 2023, the Judge allowed an application filed by the then Higher Education Minister K. Ponmudy and his wife P. Visalakshi to implead the High Court’s Registrar General (R-G), too, as one of the respondents to the suo motu criminal revision petition taken up against them.
The application was filed on the ground that only the R-G could explain the circumstances under which an administrative order was passed on July 8, 2022, by the then Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari, transferring a disproportionate assets case against the couple from Villupuram to Vellore district.
Since Justice Venkatesh had found fault with the administrative action of the High Court as well as the acquittal order passed by Vellore Principal District and Sessions Court on July 28, 2023, the couple contended that only the R-G would be able to explain why the trial was transferred from one district to another.
Further, since the petitioners’ counsel had also doubted whether all procedures had been followed by the High Court before taking up the suo motu revision, Justice Jayachandran felt that it would not be possible to proceed further with any of the six revision petitions without hearing the R-G at the first instance.
In the meantime, Justice Venkatesh returned to the principal seat of the High Court in Chennai and got back the MP/MLA portfolio for the next three months, beginning from January 2 this year. After his return to the portfolio last week, all six revision petitions have been listed before him on Monday.
While the revision petitions against Revenue Minister K.K.S.S.R. Ramachandran and Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu were related to their discharge from the disproportionate assets cases, the revision against Revenue Minister I. Periyasamy was related to his discharge from an irregular plot allotment case.
Apart from the four sitting Ministers belonging to the DMK, the Judge had taken suo motu revision against the discharge of former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam and former Social Welfare Minister B. Valarmathi of the AIADMK from separate disproportionate assets cases filed against them.
