The Tamil Nadu government, in March this year, wrote to the Raj Bhavan seeking Governor R.N. Ravi’s approval to conduct a preliminary enquiry against S. Gowri, Vice Chancellor of the University of Madras, on suspected corruption charges, according to sources.
The government sought to conduct the probe under section 17(A)(1) of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018 over an allegation mentioned in a report of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-corruption (DVAC). The letter dated, March 9, 2023, was addressed by then Higher Education Principal Secretary D. Karthikeyan to the Principal Secretary to the Governor.
In its communication to the Raj Bhavan, the State government said Mr. Gowri had also committed certain irregularities as the V-C and “as per section 11(1) of the University of Madras Act, 1923 (Tamil Nadu Act VII), the Governor - Chancellor is the authority competent to accord prior approval for conducting a Preliminary Enquiry against the Vice-Chancellor under section 17A(1) of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018.”
