Chennai: Resurrecting the political fortunes of DMK leader TM Selvaganapathy, a former AIADMK minister, Madras High Court on Wednesday set aside the conviction and two year sentence awarded by the special CBI court in the sensational Cremation Shed Scam, which cast a long shadow on his career.
“The conviction is set aside,” Justice G Jayachandran said in his order on the appeal filed by Selvaganapathy and others challenging the 2014 CBI court verdict. The appeal preferred by the CBI against the trial court exonerating Selvaganapathy from the charges of criminal conspiracy was also dismissed.
For Selvaganapathy, the High Court setting aside the conviction is a major relief. A Rajya Sabha member of the DMK, he lost that post as a consequence of the conviction by the CBI court in 2014 and was barred from contesting elections. Yet, he remained a strong regional satrap of the DMK in Western region of the state. A student leader of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, he was known for his organisational ability but switched from the CPI to the AIADMK. Following the cremation shed scam, he lost the favour of Jayalalithaa and moved to the DMK.
The case pertains to the construction of 100 cremation sheds for Dalits when he was a minister in the AIADMK ministry of Jayalalithaa during 1991-96. With an 80 percent grant from the Union Government, it was decided to construct 100 sheds. The contract was awarded to Karungulam Carpentry Worker and Industrial Society in Nagapattinam district. Later inspection revealed that the materials used were of substandard quality and the sheds were of no use. The scam came to light in 1995 following a report by IAS officer C Umashankar, the then Project Officer, District Rural Development Agency, Madurai.
Convicting Selvaganapathy and IAS officers JT Acharyulu, the then Special Commissioner for Rural Development and M Sathiamurthy, the then Director, Rural Development and others, CBI special judge S Malathi also imposed a fine of Rs 25000 on the former minister. One of the accused died during the pendency of the trial.
In the High Court, the CBI submitted that the funds of the Union Government had been misused and swindled. Of the 100 sheds sanctioned, only 96 were completed. It pressed for upholding the sentence awarded by the trial court and conviction in criminal conspiracy. On behalf of the defendants, it was argued that the inspection of the sheds were carried out three years after they were constructed and the report was submitted one and a half year later. It was submitted that the shed was damaged by the locals since the graveyards had no compound walls. Further, it was pointed out that the complainant, Ravichandran, an advocate, was never questioned and the trial court had accepted the CBI chargesheet filed in a hurry without proper investigation.
