The first Division Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday decided to continue to hear criminal original petitions filed by former Municipal Administration Minister S.P. Velumani of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam to quash two First Information Reports (FIRs) registered against him on corruption charges.
Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice N. Mala rejected the objection raised by Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) which contended that the quash petitions should be listed only before a single judge or before a Division Bench holding the portfolio for hearing cases related to past and present legislators.
Since a connected public interest litigation petition filed by Jayaram Venkatesan of non governmental organisation Arappor Iyakkam in 2018 was being heard by the first Division Bench, it would be better for the same Bench to hear the quash petitions too to avoid conflicting decisions in the matter, the Chief Justice said.
