Tamil Nadu NGO asks Governor to accord sanction to prosecute former minister Veeramani

Chennai, July 11 Tamil Nadu voluntary organisation Arappoor Iyyakam, working for transparency and accountability in governance, has asked Governor R.N. Ravi to accord sanction to prosecute former minister and AIADMK leader K.C Veeramani.

Arapoor Iyyakam Convenor Jayaram Venkatesan in a letter to the Governor said: “It has come to our notice through the letter published by the state government that the file seeking prosecution against former minister K.C. Veeramani is pending in your office for the past ten months now. We would like to press you to act fast and provide immediate sanction against the former minister.”

The petitioner said that his organisation, Arapoor Iyyakam had filed a complaint with the DVAC on August 16, 2021 against the former minister. The complaint was against the minister accumulating assets disproportionate to his known sources of income during the period between 2011 to 2021.

The petitioner said that the former minister had accumulated wealth worth Rs 76.65 crore in these ten years.

Jayaram Venkatesan said that based on the complaint filed by the organisation, the DVAC conducted a discrete inquiry and filed an FIR in September 2021 for an amount of Rs 28.78 crore for the period between 2016 to 21 which was the period that the DVAC conducted a detailed investigation.

He said that after completing the investigation, the Tamil Nadu government had sought sanction from the Governor to accord sanction as per section 19 of the PC Act on September 12, 2022.

Jayaram Venkatesan said that the reason for providing sanction to competent authorities was only to prevent honest public servants being subjected to malicious prosecution.

He however said that a cursory reading of the affidavits filed by the former minister and his income tax return amounts filed or disclosed during various elections would clearly show that there was a huge accumulation of assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

The complainant said that the delay of the office of the Governor to not provide sanction is unjustified and that the inordinate delay in prosecution and possible conviction was unjustified.

In the letter to the Governor, the petitioner said, “You are duty bound to provide sanction in this case.”

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