Overview

• On September 23, the Supreme Court stayed the Madras High Court’s April 24 order that revived the disproportionate assets case against M. Durai Murugan and his wife and issued notice to the Tamil Nadu government.
• The bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih also stayed further trial proceedings and tagged the matter with similar cases concerning the sanctioning authority question.
• Prosecutors allege the couple accumulated Rs 1.40 crore in disproportionate assets during May 13, 2006 to May 14, 2011, based on a 2011 FIR under Sections 13(1)(e) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
• The petitioners argue the sanction was improperly obtained from the Assembly Speaker instead of the Governor and say investigators wrongly clubbed the wife’s assets despite her independent income and pre‑period purchases.
• In a parallel move, Durai Murugan has asked the Madras High Court to quash a government order shifting the case from Vellore to the Chennai special court, citing witness concentration in Vellore, as the High Court also issued notice on a related plea by Minister MRK Panneerselvam.