Madras HC sets July 13 deadline to produce closure order in corruption case against former minister, educationist

The Madras High Court has given educationist and film producer Ishari K. Ganesh a final opportunity until July 13, 2026, to produce an order from the state government or the Vigilance Commission accepting the closure of a corruption case against him and former minister C. Vijayabaskar. The case, registered in 2022, alleged bribery to obtain an essentiality certificate for Vels Medical College.

A division bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan stated that if Mr. Ganesh fails to produce the executive order or a judicial order quashing the FIR, his plea to quash an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) will be dismissed.

Special Public Prosecutor P. Sidharthan informed the court that the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) had registered the FIR on September 12, 2022, against Mr. Vijayabaskar, Mr. Ganesh, the Dean of Vels Medical College, and four government doctors. The FIR was based on intelligence that Mr. Ganesh allegedly bribed the then Health Minister in 2020 to secure an essentiality certificate for the medical college, which was still under construction.

However, DVAC later filed a counter affidavit stating that no incriminating evidence was found against Mr. Vijayabaskar, Mr. Ganesh, and the Dean, and closed the case. The Vigilance Commission accepted the closure report for private individuals. Based on this, Justice Shamim Ahmed had quashed the FIR against one of the doctors on January 30, 2025.

Relying on that order, Mr. Ganesh sought to quash the ECIR registered by the Enforcement Directorate under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in 2023. The court granted a week's time to produce the necessary orders.