The Centre has told the Madras High Court that approval from the Prime Minister’s Office is required to prosecute two IAS officers in the tender irregularities case involving former AIADMK Minister S.P. Velumani. The court questioned the delay and directed the Centre to complete the sanction process within two months.
Chennai: The Madras High Court has questioned the delay in granting sanction to prosecute two IAS officers in connection with the ₹98.25-crore Corporation tender irregularities case involving former AIADMK Minister S.P. Velumani. The Centre informed the court that the Prime Minister’s Office has the authority to grant the sanction.
The issue came up before Justice N. Anand Venkatesh while hearing a contempt petition related to the case. The Tamil Nadu government informed the court that it had sent a letter to the Union government on July 22 with the necessary details regarding the request for sanction to prosecute IAS officers K.S. Kandasamy and K. Vijayakarthikeyan.
During Wednesday’s hearing, the judge questioned Sushil Kumar Patel, Joint Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training, who appeared through video conference, over the delay in granting sanction to prosecute the two officers.
Patel told the court that a large number of documents relating to the case had to be examined. He said the documents had been sent to the Central Vigilance Commission for its views and that a response was expected next week.
He further submitted that the documents would subsequently be forwarded to the Prime Minister’s Office, which has the authority to take a decision on granting sanction to prosecute. He assured the court that the process would be given priority and completed within two months, without further delay.
Taking note of the submission, Justice Anand Venkatesh directed that an affidavit be filed detailing the steps taken in the matter from November 2025 onwards.
The court also directed the Centre to complete the process of deciding on sanction to prosecute K.S. Kandasamy and K. Vijayakarthikeyan within two months and communicate the decision to the Tamil Nadu government. The matter was adjourned to November 12 for further hearing.
The case had earlier come up before the High Court in July 2026, when the court sought an explanation for the delay in obtaining the Centre’s sanction. The court directed retired IAS officer Reeta Harish Thakkar, who had served as Secretary to the State Public Department, to appear through video conference and explain the delay.
The interim order was passed on a contempt petition filed by anti-corruption NGO Arappor Iyakkam. At the time, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) had informed the court through a status report that it had sought the Centre’s sanction to prosecute K.S. Kandasamy and K. Vijayakarthikeyan, who were named as accused in the case.
According to the status report, the Central government had sought certain clarifications from the State authorities. The DVAC subsequently furnished the required details and sent a communication to the Public Department Secretary on February 27.
The court, noting that no explanation had been provided for the delay, directed the serving Public Department Secretary to file an affidavit explaining why the files had remained pending for five months. The matter was subsequently posted for August 3.
While then Assembly Speaker M. Appavu had granted sanction on February 12, 2024, to proceed against the former Minister, the sanction required from the Union government for initiating prosecution against the two IAS officers remained pending.
The issue came up before Justice N. Anand Venkatesh while hearing a contempt petition related to the case. The Tamil Nadu government informed the court that it had sent a letter to the Union government on July 22 with the necessary details regarding the request for sanction to prosecute IAS officers K.S. Kandasamy and K. Vijayakarthikeyan.
During Wednesday’s hearing, the judge questioned Sushil Kumar Patel, Joint Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training, who appeared through video conference, over the delay in granting sanction to prosecute the two officers.
Patel told the court that a large number of documents relating to the case had to be examined. He said the documents had been sent to the Central Vigilance Commission for its views and that a response was expected next week.
He further submitted that the documents would subsequently be forwarded to the Prime Minister’s Office, which has the authority to take a decision on granting sanction to prosecute. He assured the court that the process would be given priority and completed within two months, without further delay.
Taking note of the submission, Justice Anand Venkatesh directed that an affidavit be filed detailing the steps taken in the matter from November 2025 onwards.
The court also directed the Centre to complete the process of deciding on sanction to prosecute K.S. Kandasamy and K. Vijayakarthikeyan within two months and communicate the decision to the Tamil Nadu government. The matter was adjourned to November 12 for further hearing.
The case had earlier come up before the High Court in July 2026, when the court sought an explanation for the delay in obtaining the Centre’s sanction. The court directed retired IAS officer Reeta Harish Thakkar, who had served as Secretary to the State Public Department, to appear through video conference and explain the delay.
The interim order was passed on a contempt petition filed by anti-corruption NGO Arappor Iyakkam. At the time, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) had informed the court through a status report that it had sought the Centre’s sanction to prosecute K.S. Kandasamy and K. Vijayakarthikeyan, who were named as accused in the case.
According to the status report, the Central government had sought certain clarifications from the State authorities. The DVAC subsequently furnished the required details and sent a communication to the Public Department Secretary on February 27.
The court, noting that no explanation had been provided for the delay, directed the serving Public Department Secretary to file an affidavit explaining why the files had remained pending for five months. The matter was subsequently posted for August 3.
While then Assembly Speaker M. Appavu had granted sanction on February 12, 2024, to proceed against the former Minister, the sanction required from the Union government for initiating prosecution against the two IAS officers remained pending.