The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday sent notices to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and four other ministers, reported ANI. The notices were served based on a public interest litigation filed by an All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam worker claiming that the government is run on the advice of its chief V K Sasikala, who is a convict.
Sasikala is currently serving a four-year sentence in Bengaluru’s Parapanna Agrahara Central Prison after the Supreme Court convicted her in a disproportionate assets case in February 2017.
On July 13, reports emerged that Sasikala had paid Rs 2 crore in bribe to senior police officers for preferential treatment in the jail. A prison report accused Director General (Prisons) HS Sathyanarayana Rao of providing the AIADMK leader with special facilities such as deputing inmates to cook food for her in a special kitchen set up for her.
An RTI application showed that Sasikala had flouted rules to meet visitors in prison, and was even allowed visitors beyond the permitted hours of 11am to 5pm, news reports said on April 6.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!