A writ petition has been filed in the Madras High Court challenging Tamil Nadu Lokayukta’s refusal to entertain a complaint against Cooperation Minister I. Periyasamy, Food and Civil Supplies Minister R. Sakkarapani, Cooperation Secretary Md. Nasimuddin and two other IAS officials for alleged corruption in the distribution of Pongal gift hampers to 2.15 crore ration cardholders on an outlay of ₹1,296.88 crore.
The petition has been listed for admission before Justice Anita Sumanth on Wednesday. K.R. Jayagopi, 52, a resident of Kuthambakkam in Tiruvallur district, filed the case urging the court to set aside an order passed by the Lokayukta on March 2 and issue a direction to the anti-corruption body to entertain the complaint and conduct a detailed inquiry after issuing notice to the Ministers and the bureaucrats.
In his affidavit, the litigant said the government had provided a hamper containing 21 commodities — including 1 kg of raw rice, 1 kg of jaggery, 1 kg of rava, 1 kg of wheat flour, 500 g of urad dal, 500 g of moong dal, 500 g of salt, 100 g of ghee, 100 g of turmeric powder, 100 g of chilli powder, 100 g of coriander powder, 100 g of mustard, 100 g of cumin, 50 g of pepper, 50 g of cashew, 50 g of dry grapes, 10 g of cardamom and one piece of sugarcane — to the ration cardholders in January this year.
