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Tamil Nadu

Court refuses to quash Home Secretary’s order

Staff Reporter

The order had denied permission to prosecute a police officer
No connection between departmental proceedings, criminal action: petitioner

MADURAI: The Madras High Court on Saturday refused to quash the Home Secretary’s order, denying sanction to prosecute Rajesh Das, Deputy Inspector-General of Police, for allegedly trespassing into former MLA S.X. Rajamannar’s house and beating up his brother on November 8, 1992.

Dismissing a writ petition filed by the former MLA in the Madurai Bench, Justice K. Mohan Ram said he did not find any infirmity in the impugned order. “The first respondent [Home Secretary] has considered all relevant aspects and given acceptable reasons for rejecting the petitioner’s request.”

In the November 5, 2007 order, the then Home Secretary, S. Malathi, said she could not accord sanction to prosecute the officer, as nearly 15 years had passed after the alleged incident.

She recalled that the Government, on November 29, 1992, had ordered an inquiry by the District Revenue Officer into the alleged police excess.

Subsequently, departmental action was initiated against many police officers involved.

However, the erstwhile Tamil Nadu Administrative Tribunal, on March 29, 2001, quashed the departmental proceedings on the ground that only a Revenue Divisional Officer, and not a DRO, was competent to hold an inquiry under Order 154 of the Police Standing Orders.

The High Court too, on July 11, 2006, confirmed the tribunal’s order, and it was not considered to be a fit case to be appealed in the Supreme Court, the Home Secretary said. On the other hand, the petitioner claimed there was no connection between the departmental proceedings and criminal action. He had been approaching the officials and the court for the past 15 years seeking sanction for prosecuting the perpetrators.

Mr. Rajamannar won on All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam ticket and represented Ottapdiaram between 1991 and 1996.

Subsequently, he joined the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.

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