Madras HC orders CBI probe into Rs 570 cr cash seized during TN assembly elections

SBI has staked its claim over the money saying it was being transported by them from one currency chest to another

The Madras High Court today directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate and take necessary action in connection with the Rs 570 crore cash seized by the Election Commission in Tiruppur during the state assembly elections in May. The ruling comes in reply to a petition filed by Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader T K S Elangovan.

Justice R Subbiah also asked the CBI to get material on complaint and conduct investigation. If the agency finds any material during probe, it needs to register an FIR and proceed according to the law immediately, the order noted.

Elangovan is a Rajya Sabha MP and press relations secretary of the DMK, main rival to the ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu. His petition alleged that the papers related to the money transfer were fake and senior bank officials forged documents and authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India, to transport huge sums of hawala money during the state elections.

It may be noted that the State Bank of India (SBI) had repeatedly staked its claim over Rs 570 seized by EC crore saying it was a currency transaction from its currency chest in Coimbatore to another currency chest in Visakhapatnam with the approval of the RBI..

Earlier, in a litigation related to the detention of the money, the RBI had told the court the money belonged to it and was being handled by SBI with its permission.

However, the DMK leader in his petition alleged that the RBI Chennai had not given any such direction for a cash remittance of Rs 570 crore. He also said transportation of so much money by road at night was not in accordance with RBI guidelines. Former Additional Solicitor General of India and senior counsel P Wilson appeared for the petitioner.

"Whenever huge monies are to be transported between the chests ... it has to be done through rail, escorted by the local police. No such steps have been undertaken in the instant case. Serious doubts arise about the genuineness of the belated claims of the officials of the State Bank of India over the said Rs 570 crore," the petitioner alleged.

SBI had earlier clarified: "As there is a temporary cash shortage in the currency chests across Andhra Pradesh, a specific remittance was authorised by RBI (both at Hyderabad and Chennai) in accordance with their cash management policy. Movement of large sums of money is a regular activity between currency chests of a bank. Every time such movements happen, appropriate documents are secured. Like always, this time too, all necessary documents were in place."

The transaction involving three containers without any proper documentation and in vehicles bearing bogus registration numbers besides false letters by SBI claiming to have obtained permission from RBI Chennai showed the money was used for hawala transactions, alleged the DMK leader in the petition.

EC's surveillance team had detained three trucks with containers carrying cash two days before the polling on May 16 at Uthukuli Taluk in Tirupur district.

The trucks were detained at the office of the district collector. 

The DMK, which alleged the detained containers were part of money transferred by a person who had connections with ministers of the Tamil Nadu government, earlier wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and others seeking an investigation by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate into the matter.