On Wednesday, April 24, 2024, the Madras High Court dismissed a writ petition demanding an Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation into the seizure of ₹3.99 crore from train passengers at Chennai’s Tambaram railway station on April 7 and an additional ₹28.5 lakh from the DMK Tirunelveli East district secretary’s office on April 4. The case was dismissed by Justices M.S. Ramesh and Sunder Mohan after ED Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) N. Ramesh informed the court that the offenses under which the Tamil Nadu police had registered a case regarding the ₹3.99 crore seizure were not scheduled offenses under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, prohibiting the ED from investigating the matter. The judges indicated that a detailed order explaining the dismissal’s reasons would be issued later.
Independent candidate C.M. Raghavan, who contested in the Tirunelveli Parliamentary constituency in this year’s Lok Sabha polls, filed the writ petition seeking action against BJP candidate Nainar Nagenthran and Congress candidate C. Robert Bruce under the PMLA. His counsel, A. Immanuel, informed the court that the State police had seized ₹3.99 crore from a train bound for Tirunelveli, and those in possession of the cash were reportedly close associates of the BJP candidate. He further argued that the Congress candidate was part of an alliance led by the DMK, and therefore he should also be held accountable for the seizure of ₹28.5 lakh.
However, upon discovering that the FIR related to the ₹3.99 crore seizure was registered under Sections 171C, 171E, and 171F (all pertaining to bribery and undue influence in elections) and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant) of the Indian Penal Code, the judges on Monday sought clarification on whether these were scheduled offenses under the PMLA. After receiving instructions, the SPP informed the court on Wednesday that the offenses were not scheduled offenses under the PMLA, rendering the ED ineligible to investigate the matter.
