Latest news with #DVAC
Time of India
6 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
American College principal suspended days before retirement amid corruption probe
Madurai: Just two days before his scheduled retirement, Dr M Davamani Christober, principal and secretary of The American College, Madurai, was suspended from service by the directorate of collegiate education, effective May 29. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The action follows allegations of amassing disproportionate assets, currently under investigation by the directorate of vigilance and anti-corruption (DVAC), Tamil Nadu. The suspension order, signed by commissioner E Sundaravalli, was served on Friday morning by officials from the regional joint director's office. The timing of the suspension—just ahead of Dr Christober's official retirement on May 31—has stirred discussion within academic and civic circles. In the wake of his suspension, G Kannabiran, associate professor and head of the economics department, was appointed interim principal. To ensure administrative continuity, the college's governing council held an emergency meeting on Saturday, during which Dr J Paul Jayakar, head of the postgraduate and research department of English, was selected as the new principal. Dr Christober, who was appointed in Oct 2011, remained in office for over 12 years—far exceeding the standard three-year term. Sources within the institution allege that this extended tenure, combined with limited oversight, may have enabled financial irregularities now under scrutiny. In a related development, R Prabahar Vedamanickam, a retired associate professor of the college, filed a petition before the Madras high court in 2025, urging the higher education department and DVAC to initiate an inquiry against Dr Christober and his associates. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The petition cited allegations of financial mismanagement, misappropriation of funds, and disproportionate asset accumulation. During court proceedings, the state government informed that a preliminary inquiry was underway and that DVAC had already gathered documents and examined several witnesses. The court subsequently directed DVAC to expedite and complete the investigation without delay. MSID:: 121535255 413 |
Time of India
28-05-2025
- Time of India
Land surveyor arrested in Salem for accepting bribe
SALEM: A land surveyor has been arrested in Salem city for taking a bribe of Rs 5,000 from a man who approached him for a patta transfer. M Shankar, 45, who is employed at the Salem West tahsildar's office, demanded Rs 5,000 from S Kannan, 40, of Pudu Road for the patta transfer. Kannan, who was reluctant to pay the bribe, filed a complaint with the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-corruption (DVAC) on Tuesday. DVAC officers, under the direction of inspector Ravikumar, provided Kannan with chemical-coated currency notes. They caught Shankar red-handed while he accepted the bribe money from Kannan near Cholampallam bus stop. Shankar was remanded in judicial custody.
New Indian Express
28-05-2025
- New Indian Express
Madras HC slams Tangedco for delay in acting against graft-accused staff
MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court has directed the Tangedco chief engineer (personnel) to take timely disciplinary action against employees who are facing corruption charges, by using attested photo copies of supporting documents needed for the process. Justice B Pugalendhi gave the direction recently after finding that there is huge delay in launching the disciplinary proceedings as Tangedco keeps waiting for the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) officials to share the materials collected by them. The judge directed the chief engineer to issue a circular in this regard. The judge passed the order while dismissing the petition filed by an accounts supervisor in Tangedco who was suspended for demanding Rs 5,000 bribe from a line inspector for dropping disciplinary action in 2011. The petitioner had challenged his charge memo on the ground that it was issued after a delay of 10 years. While explaining the delay, the chief engineer informed the court that they were unable to proceed since the supporting documents required for the proceedings were with the DVAC, which retained the documents for criminal prosecution. The officer also informed the court that out of 231 Tangedco employees who were facing graft charges, disciplinary proceedings have been initiated against only 101 employees, owing to the above reason. Calling it a 'lame excuse', the judge opined that this directly helped the accused officials. He further pointed out that the government had issued a G.O. in 2004 that when the original records are with courts, there is no bar to use attested photocopies of documents for disciplinary proceedings to take a final decision without awaiting the outcome of criminal cases. Further, the judge directed the trial court to conclude the proceedings preferably within six months.
Time of India
27-05-2025
- Time of India
Man sentenced to four years RI in graft case
Madurai: The special court for trial of cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act in Madurai recently convicted and sentenced a man to undergo four years of rigorous imprisonment, for demanding and accepting a bribe from a man to process an application seeking a legal heir certificate, by posing as an employee of the Usilampatti taluk office in Madurai district. The prosecution's case was that an individual, Chellapandi , was working as an assistant to the officials in the Usilampatti taluk office in the district. A person named Jayamani submitted an application seeking a legal heir certificate for his sister. Chellapandi, who posed as a taluk office employee, demanded a 3,000 bribe from Jayamani to process the application. Based on Jayamani's complaint, the DVAC officials registered a case and arrested Chellapandi when he received the bribe amount in Sept 2014. After concluding the investigation, the DVAC officials filed the final report before the court. The special court judge, R Barathiraja, convicted and sentenced Chellapandi to undergo four years of rigorous imprisonment for offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act and imposed a fine of 1,500 on him.
The Hindu
27-05-2025
- The Hindu
Man sentenced to four-year RI for receiving bribe
Special Court for Trial of Cases under Prevention of Corruption Act, Madurai, sentenced Chellapandi, who worked as an assistant at the office of the Usilampatti Tahsildar, to four-year rigorous imprisonment for demanding and accepting bribe amount to issue a legal heir certificate. Judge R. Barathiraja also imposed a fine of ₹3,000 on Chellapandi. The case of the prosecution was that Chellapandi demanded and accepted ₹3,000 as bribe in 2014 from the complainant R. Jayamani for making arrangements to issue a legal heir certificate in the name of the complainant's sister Thedaselvi. The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC), Madurai Unit, had registered a case in 2014. The DVAC sleuths laid a trap and arrested Chellapandi while he was receiving the bribe amount.
