The Madras High Court directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate and take necessary action in connection with the Rs. 570 crore cash seized by the Election Commission in Tiruppur during the state assembly elections in May. The ruling comes in reply to a petition filed by Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader T K S Elangovan.
Justice R Subaiah directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to conduct a preliminary investigation into the matter to ascertain the merits of the case.
“If a prima facie case is made out, the CBI shall initiate appropriate action in accordance with law,” the judge said.
On May 14, Election Commission officials seized at least Rs 570 crore cash from three containers during a routine vehicle check on Perumanallur-Kunnathur bypass, two days ahead of the Tamil Nadu Assembly polls.
Officials said the personnel accompanying the containers told them that they were transferring Rs 570 crore from State Bank of India in Coimbatore to Vishakhapatnam branches but did not have all the necessary documents and efforts were on to ascertain the veracity of their claim.
T.K.S. Elangovan is a Rajya Sabha MP and press relations secretary of the DMK, main rival to the ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu. His petition alleged that the papers related to the money transfer were fake and senior bank officials forged documents and authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India, to transport huge sums of hawala money during the state elections.
It may be noted that the State Bank of India (SBI) had repeatedly staked its claim over Rs 570 seized by EC crore saying it was a currency transaction from its currency chest in Coimbatore to another currency chest in Visakhapatnam with the approval of the RBI.
Earlier, in a litigation related to the detention of the money, the RBI had told the court the money belonged to it and was being handled by SBI with its permission.
However, the DMK leader in his petition alleged that the RBI Chennai had not given any such direction for a cash remittance of Rs 570 crore. He also said transportation of so much money by road at night was not in accordance with RBI guidelines. Former Additional Solicitor General of India and senior counsel P Wilson appeared for the petitioner.
“Whenever huge monies are to be transported between the chests … it has to be done through rail, escorted by the local police. No such steps have been undertaken in the instant case. Serious doubts arise about the genuineness of the belated claims of the officials of the State Bank of India over the said Rs 570 crore,” the petitioner alleged.
EC’s surveillance team had detained three trucks with containers carrying cash two days before the polling on May 16 at Uthukuli Taluk in Tirupur district.
The trucks were detained at the office of the district collector.
