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TN assembly speaker discharged
in fraud case

A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Wednesday discharged Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker K Kalimuthu in a case pertaining to defrauding of some nationalised banks of over Rs 5 million, on the ground that proper sanction had not been obtained to prosecute him.

The case dates back to 1985 when Kalimuthu was a minister in the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) government headed by the late M G Ramachandran.

Allowing a petition from Kalimuthu seeking discharge from the case, designated CBI Judge A S Kannan referred to rulings of the Kerala high court and apex court and said the agency ought to have obtained sanction from the competent authority to prosecute Kalimuthu for offences under the Indian Penal Code.

Failure to do so was against the law, he said.

Prior sanction under Section 197 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) pertaining to prosecution of judges and public servants and Sec 6 (1)(b) of the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) were absolutely necessary for the court to take cognisance of the offence, he said.

Besides, the judge said since the petitioner had been discharged of offences under the IPC, the charges under the PCA alone couldn't stand.

PTI

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