After 12 years, HC orders revival of graft case against Tamil Nadu ex-CM O Panneerselvam | India News – Times of India

CHENNAI: Twelve years after a trial court had allowed the closure of a corruption case against former Tamil Nadu chief minister and expelled AIADMK functionary O Panneerselvam, Madras high court reversed the order on Tuesday, thereby reviving the case.
Justice N Anand Venkatesh, who had initiated suo motu revision proceedings against the closure, passed an order on Tuesday and directed the transfer of all the case documents to a special court in Madurai.
The case was registered against Panneerselvam in 2006, with the directorate of vigilance and anti-corruption (DVAC) in Madurai alleging that the former CM had amassed assets in his name and that of his relatives. It was estimated to be 374 times disproportionate to his known sources of income during his four-month chief ministership and later as revenue minister from 2001 to 2006.
In 2012, during the next tenure of the AIADMK, the probe agency gave a clean chit to Panneerselvam and filed a closure report. The Sivaganga special court accepted the final report and discharged Panneerselvam from the case. In Aug 2023, however, Justice Anand Venkatesh initiated a suo motu revision petition against the discharge of Panneerselvam from the case.