The Madras High Court has directed the Centre to complete within two months the process for deciding whether prosecution sanction should be granted against two IAS officers in the Rs 98.25-crore tender irregularities case involving former Tamil Nadu minister S.P. Velumani, and to inform the state government of its decision.
The order concerns allegations related to road works undertaken in the Chennai and Coimbatore municipal corporations during the tenure of Velumani as Tamil Nadu’s local administration minister under the AIADMK government. The case alleges that tenders for the works were awarded to relatives and close associates, resulting in alleged irregularities amounting to Rs 98.25 crore.
The direction was issued during the hearing of a contempt petition filed by Arappor Iyakkam against the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption. The organisation alleged that the agency had not implemented an earlier court direction requiring the filing of a charge sheet in the case.
Justice N. Anand Venkatesh heard the matter. Sushilkumar Patel, deputy secretary in the Department of Personnel and Training, appeared through video conference and was questioned about the delay in deciding whether permission could be granted to prosecute IAS officers Gandhasamy and Vijay Karthikeyan.
Patel told the court that the case involved a large number of documents requiring examination. He said the documents had been sent to the Central Vigilance Commission, whose response was expected by the end of the following week. After that response, the documents would be sent to the Prime Minister’s Office, which has the authority to decide on prosecution sanction, according to the explanation recorded in the report.
Patel further stated that the process would take two months, after which there would be no further delay, and that priority would be given to completing the sanction procedure. The court accepted the Centre’s explanation but required a formal account of the steps taken in the matter.
Justice Anand Venkatesh directed the Centre to file an affidavit explaining the procedures undertaken from November 2025 until the present. The court also ordered the Union government to complete the process for deciding on prosecution sanction against the two IAS officers and communicate its decision to the Tamil Nadu government.
The case has been posted for further hearing on November 12. The next proceedings are expected to examine the affidavit and the status of the sanction process, which is a procedural requirement before prosecution can proceed against the serving or former public officials concerned.
