Legal troubles ahead for minister DMK’s Trichy strongman Nehru and family; ED to probe money laundering

Days after alleging deep-rooted corruption in Tamil Nadu’s Municipal and Water Supply Department (MAWS) headed by DMK’s Trichy strongman K.N. Nehru, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has sought to intervene in a plea made by his brother N. Ravichandran to quash a CBI chargesheet filed against him in a bank fraud case. 

 

ED’s Special Public Prosecutor N. Ramesh, informed the Madras High Court on Tuesday the investigation agency had conducted an independent probe on the basis of CBI’s chargesheet. The Special Public Prosecutor informed the court that the agency had evidence on charges of money laundering and wanted to place the materials before the court, before taking a decision on the quash plea. Hearing the petition Justice M. Nirmal Kumar, granted time till June 12, for the agency to file an intervention petition.  

 

Senior counsel N.R. Elango who appeared on behalf of Ravichandran said that the agency doesn’t have any locus standi as it was neither a complainant nor a victim in the CBI case. Vikram Choudhary, who appeared on behalf of Ravichandran and True Value Homes, the realty company run by Ravichandran, objected to the intervention petition. Both Elango and Choudhary insisted that the agency be allowed to intervene with a pre-condition that it would drop the money laundering case against Ravichandran and his companies if the court quashed the CBI case. "The conduct of ED is that they play into the hands of their political masters. What they are doing is a political act, not a legal act. It is impermissible in law, which even they know very well, but to satisfy their political masters, they are doing this. It is unfortunate. This should not happen before a constitutional court," Elango argued.

 

Choudhary argued that the ED must be asked to file a proper petition for intervening in the case and that it should be allowed to do so on an oral request. He also asked if the local police would be permitted to intervene and assist the court in a money laundering case. 

 

CBI Special Public Prosecutor K. Srinivasan, counsel on behalf of CBI sought time to file a counter affidavit against the quash petition and left it to the court to take the call on ED’s plea. The CBI had actually filed the case against Ravichandran and his True Value Homes for cheating the Indian Overseas Bank to the tune of Rs. 30 crore. Ravichandran and his realty company claim to have repaid and settled the loan fully to the extent of Rs.51.26 crores. Hearing the arguments the court extended the interim stay in the case till June 12. Earlier the Madras High Court Justice N. Seshasayee, who heard the case, had granted stay in the case till December 11, 2024. 

 

However, ED on April 7 conducted searches at the premises of Ravichandran, his TVH and many other companies like Truedom EPC India Pvt Ltd, under the PMLA. The searches were conducted in more than  15 places linked to Ravichandran, his minister brother Nehru and his Lok Sabha MP nephew Arun Nehru. Ravichandran was also subjected to a marathon enquiry by the ED. The investigation agency had filed the PMLA case based on a CBI FIR registered in 2021 alleging that Rs. 30 crore of loan taken by Truedom EPC Pvt Ltd for a 100 MW power plant project was diverted to shell entities owned by Ravichandran. After three days of searches and enquiry in the case, ED alleged deep-rooted corruption in terms of awarding tenders in Tamil Nadu’s MAWS department which is headed by Nehru as the minister. 

 

Nehru is one of the senior ministers in Stalin’s cabinet, considered close to the high command, and is powerful in Trichy and the neighbouring districts. He is also the principal secretary of the DMK. Nehru is the third minister to come under the ED scanner after Electricity Minister V.Senthil Balaji and Water Resources Minister DuraiMurugan.

India