Ex-DMK minister facing graft case moves HC

Former Tamil Nadu minister and DMK leader K K S S R Ramachandran today moved Madras High Court Bench here seeking to quash a government order appointing a Special Public Prosecutor for Vigilance cases to deal a disproportionate wealth case against him.
In his petition, he contended that classification of vigilance cases and appointing a special prosecutor to deal with cases relating to the former DMK ministers alone had been done with malafide intentions to wreak vengeance against them for political reasons.
He sought to quash the order of the Principal Secretary to government Jatindra Nath Swan appointing A Jeyabalan, a retired legal advisor, as the SPP.

The former minister also sought to implead Swan also in the case in his personal capacity.
Ramachandran said though the government had powers and authority to appoint a SPP for the purpose of conducting criminal cases, the order appointing 15 SPPs for conducting as many cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act was illegal and had been done with malafide intentions.
All the 15 accused are former ministers belonging to the DMK. When hundreds of disproportionate wealth cases were pending, the classification made for ministers of the erstwhile DMK Government was unreasonable and discriminated, Ramachandran said

Also, only retired government servants had been chosen to serve as SPPs in all cases under the Director of Prosecution and this was a malafide exercise. Hence it should be quashed, he pleaded.

Additional Advocate General submitted that appointments had been made as per rules,and there was no violation.
Following this, Justice D Raja directed the government to file a counter.
The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Police had registered cases against Ramachandran and 14 other former DMK ministers under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The case against Ramachandran, his wife and another person had been filed before the Special Court in Madurai and was pending for framing of charges.