Madras HC allows withdrawal of PIL seeking prosecution of TN Chief Minister Stalin

Chennai: The Madras High Court on Tuesday permitted the withdrawal of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed in April 2024 challenging the Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker’s 2006 order withdrawing sanction to prosecute present Chief Minister M.K. Stalin in connection with an alleged flyover construction scam.

A division bench of Chief Justice K.R. Shriram and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy allowed litigant Manickam Athappa Gounder of Coimbatore to withdraw the PIL.

The court also permitted Gounder to withdraw the Rs 1 lakh he had deposited as directed by a previous division bench, to demonstrate his bona fide intention in filing the case 18 years after the incident.

In his PIL, Gounder said that the Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) had registered a case against former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, the current Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, and others on June 19, 2001. This action was based on a complaint filed by then-Chennai Corporation Commissioner J.C.T. Acharyalu. The case concerned alleged corruption in the construction of various flyovers across Chennai, with an outlay of Rs 115.50 crore, during Stalin’s tenure as Chennai Corporation Mayor.

The CB-CID completed its investigation and filed a charge sheet in 2004 against Karunanidhi, Stalin, current Minister K. Ponmudi, and former Minister Ko. Si. Mani. The Speaker at the time sanctioned prosecution on April 15, 2005.

However, with the DMK returning to power in 2006, the succeeding Speaker withdrew this sanction after the CB-CID reclassified the case as a "mistake of fact" and sought to close it. Describing the withdrawal of sanction as "arbitrary", the petitioner urged the court to overturn the 2006 order and direct the competent court to prosecute Stalin and Ponmudi under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and the Indian Penal Code.