Accusing Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan of perjury, a petition filed before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday sought the initiation of criminal proceedings against her.
In his petition, K. Kathiresan, Madurai district secretary of AITUC, alleged that the Chief Secretary had filed a false affidavit with the court in connection with a case filed in 2017 which challenged the extension of service granted to DGP T.K. Rajendran, who has been accused of involvement in the gutkha scam.
He said the Chief Secretary had claimed that no documents pertaining to the scam that involved highly-ranked police officers were available in her office, thereby misguiding the court. Following an I-T raid on a gutkha manufacturer, the involvement of police officers was exposed. However, the report of the I-T Department was kept in cold storage and the facts suppressed, he alleged.
Gutkha scam files
When the Director of Vigilance and Anti Corruption wrote to the I-T Department seeking copies of the documents, it was submitted that the documents had already been delivered to the Chief Secretary. Later, the files were traced to Poes Garden, he said.
Even though incriminating evidence against Mr. Rajendran was made out for his involvement in the scam, the Chief Secretary failed to disclose the fact before the empanelment of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), following which Mr. Rajendran was granted an extension of service, he said.
By giving false evidence in the case, the Chief Secretary had committed offence under various sections of the IPC and the CrPC, the petitioner said.
