Madras High Court Seeks Status Report on Tamil Nadu Tasmac Scam Cases

The Madras High Court has requested the Tamil Nadu government to provide a status report concerning 41 cases linked to the Tasmac scam. This directive emerged during the hearing of a public interest litigation filed by lawyer K. Venkatachalapathi from Tirunelveli, who alleged that several FIRs have been lodged accusing Tasmac stores of overcharging for alcohol, with irregularities amounting to ₹1,000 crores. According to the petition, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) registered FIRs between 2017 and 2024. Subsequently, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) initiated a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and conducted raids in March of this year.

Venkatachalapathi urged the court to transfer the investigation to the CBI, alleging that the state government was obstructing the ED's inquiry and sought a halt to any further investigations by the state. Justices G.R. Swaminathan and Lakshmi Narayanan presided over the case. The state's advocate general, P.S. Raman, stated that the Supreme Court had mandated that the accused individuals must be heard before transferring cases to other agencies. He requested the court to join the accused as respondents in the petition.

The bench inquired whether the state would ensure that FIRs would not be closed in the meantime. In response, the advocate general acknowledged that a petition to close the FIRs had been filed in a lower court but assured that the home secretary would not be advised to close Tasmac-related cases until the next hearing.