Today, the Supreme Court put a stay on the Madras High Court's order, which had nullified the discharge of Tamil Nadu Ministers KKSSR Ramachandran, Thangam Thenarasu, and their spouses in disproportionate assets cases.

A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and Prashant Kumar Mishra passed the interim order while issuing a notice on the special leave petitions filed by the ministers and their spouses.

Senior Advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi represented Thenarasu and his wife Manimegalai, while Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal appeared for KKSSR Ramachandran. Senior Advocate Dr. S Muralidhar represented R Adhilakshmi, the wife of Ramachandran. They raised objections to the procedure followed by the High Court in overturning the discharge through a suo motu criminal revision.

They questioned how the High Court, while exercising its powers in a criminal revision, could reject the closure reports filed by the DVAC, arguing that this effectively overstepped the authority of the Trial Judge. The judgment of the High Court was claimed to be contrary to the procedure outlined by the Supreme Court in the Vinay Tyagi case.

It was further argued that the Chief Justice, as the master of the roster, should have assigned the suo motu criminal cases involving MPs and MLAs to a division bench. Instead, the case was assigned to a single bench, which was claimed to be in violation of the rules of the High Court.

Tamil Nadu Advocate General PS Raman submitted that the State is planning to file a special leave petition against the order, as it interfered with the findings of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC).

The High Court, in setting aside the closure reports, restored the cases to the Special MP/MLA Court and directed the petitioners to appear for trial on September 9, 2024. Additionally, the High Court ordered that the trial be conducted on a day-to-day basis to ensure its early completion.

Case Details : T. THENNARASU (A) THANGAM THENNARASU v THE STATE OF TAMIL NADU AND ORS | SLP(Crl) No. 11664/2024 and connected cases.