Madras High Court to Hear Ex-Minister's Plea for Discharge in 2011 DA Case

The Madras High Court is set to hear on Monday a criminal revision petition filed by former DMK Minister M.R.K. Panneerselvam, his wife, and son seeking discharge from a disproportionate assets case registered against them in 2011 by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC). Justice G.K. Ilanthiraiyan will preside over the hearing.

The petitioners are challenging the June 30, 2026 order of the Cuddalore Principal District and Sessions Court, which refused to discharge them from the case. The charges allege that the accused held assets worth ₹3.01 crore disproportionate to their known sources of income during the check period from April 15, 2006 to March 21, 2011, when Panneerselvam served as Health Minister in the cabinet of then Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi.

This marks the second attempt by the accused to secure discharge in the same case. Their first discharge plea, filed in 2013, was allowed by the Cuddalore Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) on February 3, 2016. However, the DVAC filed a revision petition against that order, which was allowed by Justice P. Velmurugan on April 25, 2025. The judge termed the earlier discharge order as 'perverse' and directed that the accused must face trial, setting a six-month deadline for disposal.

The accused then appealed to the Supreme Court, but their special leave petition was dismissed as withdrawn on August 12, 2025. Subsequently, a plea to quash the charge sheet was also dismissed as withdrawn by Justice A.D. Jagadish Chandira of the High Court on November 20, 2025. On February 24, 2026, Justice Chandira granted an additional six months for the trial court to conclude the case.

In their second discharge plea before the sessions court, the accused argued that the DVAC had failed to obtain prior sanction from the Governor before initiating prosecution, as required under Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The sessions court rejected this contention, stating that no such sanction was necessary because the FIR was registered after Panneerselvam had demitted office as Minister. The court noted that the DVAC received discreet information about the disproportionate assets on July 8, 2011, registered the FIR on October 3, 2011, and filed the charge sheet on June 18, 2012.

In the present revision petition, the accused maintain that the entire charge sheet is liable to be set aside due to the lack of prior sanction. The High Court's decision on this matter is awaited.