Madras High Court Reserves Order on Plea to Quash TASMAC Tender Irregularities FIR

The Madras High Court has deferred its decision on a plea to invalidate a First Information Report (FIR) filed by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) concerning irregularities in Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) tenders. The petition was lodged by T. Ramesh of Karur, who is identified as a co-accused alongside former DMK Minister V. Senthilbalaji.

The case involves allegations of significant losses to the public exchequer, estimated at no less than ₹100 crore, arising from flawed TASMAC tender processes initiated in 2021. The DVAC contested the petitioner's request, highlighting the gravity of the corruption allegations and citing Supreme Court permission to proceed with the investigation.

A key aspect of the petition challenges the constitutionality of Section 17 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. This section empowers police to arrest individuals without summoning them for an inquiry. The petitioner argues that this provision contradicts Section 35(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, which mandates issuing inquiry notices to suspects before arrest. The petitioner also claimed he was arrested in the TASMAC tender case shortly after being released on bail in a separate ₹35 crore bribery case involving TVK MLAs, despite his name not appearing in either FIR.

The Additional Solicitor General argued that the challenge to Section 17 of the Prevention of Corruption Act lacked merit, as no grounds were presented to demonstrate its unconstitutionality. The FIR, it was noted, was registered based on proceedings initiated by the Directorate of Enforcement in a related matter.