The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday dismissed a public interest litigation petition that sought a CBI probe into a passport scam that involved Sri Lankan refugees, police, passport and postal department employees. The case is being probed by the Q Branch.
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A Division Bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and S. Ananthi observed that the investigation in the case was on the right track. The court took cognisance of the State’s submission that as many as 16 arrests were made so far and 175 witnesses examined. The judges observed that they did not find any public interest involved in the petition seeking CBI probe.
The court was hearing the petition filed by S. Muruga Ganesan of Madurai. He said that Sri Lankan refugees had managed to get passports by submitting fake addresses and identity. At least 53 such passports had been obtained under the jurisdiction of Avaniapuram police station alone. Therefore, the investigation must be transferred to the CBI, he said.