TVK MLA Horse-Trading Case: Madras High Court Rejects Plea For Further Arguments

Chennai: The Madras High Court has declined a request by the petitioner to make additional submissions in the case seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the alleged attempt to poach a ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) legislator, while reserving its verdict on the plea for transfer of the investigation.

The case originates from a complaint filed by N Ilaiyaraja, a doctor and the TVK MLA from Uthangarai, who alleged that he was approached by certain individuals during the political developments surrounding a proposed no-confidence motion against the Assembly Speaker.

According to the MLA, despite being a member of the ruling TVK, he was allegedly offered up to ₹35 crore to vote against his party's stand during the Assembly proceedings.

Based on his complaint, the D1 Triplicane Police Station registered a case and launched an investigation. During the probe, police arrested more than 10 individuals, including YouTuber Thirunavukkarasu of Chennai, Naresh from Tiruchirappalli and Thiagarajan from Chennai. The accused are currently lodged in Puzhal Central Prison, while police continue to question some of those allegedly linked to the conspiracy.

During the course of the investigation, allegations surfaced regarding the possible involvement of former minister Senthil Balaji and his brother Ashok Kumar. After being summoned for questioning by investigators, the two approached the High Court and obtained conditional anticipatory bail.

Meanwhile, Tiruppur-based advocate Balasubramani moved the Madras High Court seeking transfer of the investigation from the state police to the CBI.

When the matter came up before the bench headed by Chief Justice S A Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan, counsel for the petitioner argued that some of the arrested individuals had alleged that their statements had been obtained under police pressure and contended that complaints made by others regarding alleged horse-trading had not been acted upon by the police.

The bench, however, observed that a case could not be transferred to the CBI in the absence of sufficient material and reserved its verdict on the plea.

When the matter was mentioned again on Friday, senior advocate Jyoti, appearing for the petitioner, sought permission to advance further arguments on Monday, claiming to possess additional evidence relating to the case.

The bench declined the request, observing that adequate opportunity had already been granted to all parties to present their submissions and that the matter had already been reserved for orders. Accordingly, the court rejected the petitioner's request for further arguments and said the verdict would be delivered at a later date.

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