HC to hear Selvi’s land grab case plea
CHENNAI: The Madras High Court will hear a plea, seeking to transfer the 2007 land grab case against S Selvi, daughter of the late Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, to any other court from the Poonamallee Court presently hearing the case.
Justice P Rajamanickam, before whom the plea came on Monday, on accounting for the submission made by counsel appearing for Selvi that petitioner Nedumaran, on hiding a fact that the high court in an earlier order had dismissed a similar petition seeking change of court holding the trial, posted the matter for further hearing to Wednesday.
As per the case, V Nedumaran of Valasaravakkam on July 5, 2007, had entered into an agreement with Jothimani, son-in-law of Selvi who claimed to have the power of attorney of Selvi for the sale of 2.94 acres of land at Thalambur village.
A deal was struck at Rs.5.14 crore of which Nedumaran paid Rs.3.5 crore in three instalments by August 6, 2007. However, Selvi and Jothimai with the intention to cheat allegedly, sold the same property to another person. After a spate of litigations, the Supreme Court directed her to undergo trial at the Poonamalee court in an appeal filed by the State Government.
In 2018, a judicial magistrate court in Poonamallee rejected Nedumaran’s petition to transfer the case. Challenging the order, a plea was filed at the high court. But Justice P N Prakash on holding that court didn’t find any infirmity in the order passed by the judicial magistrate dismissed the plea as withdrawn.
Notwithstanding this, Nedumaran in his recent plea at the high court had contended that despite the investigation officer filing the final report in this regard, the case has not proceeded further. Since those accused in the case were connected politically the trial ought to be shifted from Ponnamalle court to Alandur court, he said.
Justice MS Ramesh, who had heard the case before the portfolio change, had refused to grant the petitioner’s plea of shifting the case to any other court but had directed the Poonamalle court to complete the trial but not deliver the verdict until further orders.