Don't harass Kesava Vinayagam in the name of investigation: Madras HC directs Tamil Nadu government
The CB-CID should not call Kesava Vinayagam for further investigation as he had made his statement by appearing before the investment agency, observed the judge
The seized cash (inset) ID proof of the BJP cadre
CHENNAI: The Madras High Court directed the State not to harass Kesava Vinayagam, the organising secretary of Tamil Nadu BJP by calling for investigation in the case of seizuring Rs.3.99 crores from three train passengers.
Justice G Jayachandran held that the Crime Branch - Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) should only warrant the presence of Kesava Vinayagam for investigation after placing the collected materials against him before the Court, while hearing the petition moved by Kesava Vinayagam seeking to quash the summoning order and FIR registered regarding the seizure of money.
The CB-CID should not call Kesava Vinayagam for further investigation as he had made his statement by appearing before the investment agency, observed the judge.
If the CB-CID is allowed to summon Kesava Vinayagam again, it may tarnish his image since he is the office bearer of State BJP.
However, the judge refused to quash the FIR, requested by the petitioner and rejected the application of the investigation agency seeking permission to seize the mobile phone of Kesava Vinayagam.
Additional public prosecutor (APP) submitted that the mobile phone is vital for the investigation agency to collect evidence whether he contacted the accused who were caught with huge money.
The judge observed it can be found out with the help of call detail record (CDR). The APP submitted that Kesava Vinayagam has contacted the accused through WhatsApp call and it cannot be traced out in the CDR.
Advocate Paul Kanagaraj representing the petitioner submitted since the cases registered are non-cognizable offense, hence the police cannot call the petitioner for investigation without the order of the magistrate.
The entire investigation is void- ab initio, liable to be stalled, said the petitioner. The summon was issued only to degrade him and his position in the party due to political vendetta, there is no basis or material for summoning him, said the petitioner.
On April 6, railway police at Tambaram detained three train passengers Sathish, Perumal, and Naveen traveling in Nellai Express, as they were found with Rs.3.99 crores without documents. The Tambaram police registered a case against the three accused regarding the seizure of money. Later the case was transferred to CB-CID, Chennai.
It was reported that the accused gave statements that the money was carried to distribute to the Tirunelveli constituency voters on behalf of Nainar Nagendran.
