Omandurar estate irregularities: HC orders status quo till Nov 22

The Madras High Court Friday ordered status quo till November 22 on the matter of alleged irregularities in the construction of the new assembly and state secretariat on Omandurar government estate during DMK rule.

The division bench, comprising Justices S Manikumar and Subramonium Prasad, gave the directive on a plea from senior advocate P Wilson, who submitted that the interim order, originally granted on October 12 would expire Friday.

The bench was passing further interim orders on appeals from DMK chief M K Stalin and treasurer Durai Murugan to set aside the order of Justice S M Subramaniam, who had ordered winding up of the Reghupathy Commission of enquiry and directed it to hand over the records to the state government.

The judge had then directed the government to go through the documents and institute criminal proceedings only if it found a prima facie case.

Wilson contended that the state government had simply forwarded the documents to the directorate of vigilance and anti-corruption, which started its probe.

On October 1, the Madras High Court had observed that once a government starts functioning, its policy decisions must be "beyond its political ideologies and any pale of doubt."
It observed that the tax payers' money of Rs 400 crore spent on beautification and for other facilities for construction of a new secretariat became a "national waste."