HC exempts Stalin from personal appearance

The Madras High Court today dispensed with the personal appearance of former Deputy Chief Minister M K Stalin, and ex-PWD Minister Durai Murugan before the Justice Regupathy Commission, appointed by the government to probe irregularities in the construction of the New Secretariat Complex at Omandurar Estate here.
Justice V. Ramasubramanian, who passed interim orders on the petitions filed by Stalin and Murugan, said following the September 17 decision in a similar case, "there will be an interim order in these two cases also to the following effect."
The court had then dispensed with the personal appearance of DMK President and former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi.

Justice (retd) R Regupathy was appointed as the one-man Commission of Inquiry by the government on December 2, 2011 to probe the alleged irregularities in the construction of the complex causing "loss" to the exchequer when Karunanidhi was the Chief Minister.
Stalin and Durai Murugan had challenged the summons issued to them by the commission. They alleged that summons were issued only after they questioned the appointment of Justice Reghupathy as the one-man commission to inquire into the Moulivakkam multi-story building collapse near here in June in which 61 persons were killed.
They further submitted that there was no reason for the commission to compel their personal appearance as there was no power under the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952 to direct a person under section 8B to appear in person when the law permits representation through a lawyer under section 8C.

They sought a direction to quash the summons as well as the government order appointing Justice Regupathy as the one-man Commission of Inquiry.