HC: Public figure should come clean in people’s eye

CHENNAI: Brushing away the alleged technical flaws in initiating the suo motu revision case against the discharge of Minister I Periyasamy in the alleged irregularity in TNHB plot allotment, the Madras High Court said a public figure should not be discharged from the case only on the technical ground of invalid sanction but must come clean in the public eye.

Reserving final orders, Justice N Anand Venkatesh noted that there were systemic issues. “Someone has to deal with the systemic problem; this time it is me… One day I retire and go, nobody will remember me, but the systemic problem should not recur again in the future,” he said.

In the given case, the message sent to the public is that a minister was discharged only on the grounds of invalid sanction. “Common man’s confidence on the system is much, much important for the judiciary,” the judge said, expressing his displeasure over the way in which the prosecution agency handled the case, which prompted the court to initiate suo motu criminal revision.

When Advocate General PS Raman, who appeared for DVAC, explained the difference between permission and sanction, the judge wondered if the agency agreed with the reason, what prevented it from moving the Governor seeking sanction.