HC grants stay in another FERA case against Dhinakaran

The Madras High Court today stayed proceedings in a lower court here against AMMK leader T T V Dhinakaran in a 22-year-old FERA case filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Justice R M T Teekaa Raman granted the interim stay on a criminal revision petition by Dhinakaran against an April 11 order of the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Court, Economic Offence, refusing to halt further proceedings in the case.

He had sought the relief in the ACMM court in the case related to alleged illegal routing of USD 36,000 and 0.1 million pounds for starting a star hotel in the UK citing the high court's stay of proceedings in another FERA case against him.

The other case related to alleged receipt of USD 10.4 million in foreign exchange without obtaining prior permission from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and depositing it in the account of Dipper Investments Limited, a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands.

Both the cases were filed by the ED in 1996 but the proceedings had been delayed due to litigations.

The high court had on March 22 last extended its interim stay on proceedings in the USD 10.4 million FERA case by two more months.

The ED had later moved the high court seeking to vacate the March 22 stay and the matter is pending.

In its counter affidavit, ED had then accused Dhinakaran of trying to drag the hearing in the over two-decade old case.

Earlier, the court in October, 2011 had said trial in both the cases can be held together and gave liberty to Dhinkaran to file an application before the ACMM court in this regard.

In his present petition, Dhinakaran submitted the ACMM even without ordering notice to the ED had dismissed his application seeking a joint trial in the two cases.

He contended that since the high court specifically stated that both the cases can be tried together and when there was a stay in one of the cases, the other must also stand stayed as it cannot be taken up and heard separately.