Chennai: The Central government has told the Madras High Court that the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is the competent authority to grant statutory sanction for prosecuting serving or former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers in criminal cases.
The submission was made during a hearing on the delay in obtaining prosecution sanction against IAS officers K.S. Kandasamy (IAS: 2009: TN) and K. Vijaya Karthikeyan (IAS: 2011: TN) in a case concerning alleged irregularities in contracts awarded by the Greater Chennai and Coimbatore municipal corporations.
DoPT Explains Sanction Process
Appearing before Justice N. Anand Venkatesh, Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) Joint Secretary Sushil Kumar Patel explained the procedure followed for obtaining sanction.
According to the Centre’s submission:
- The proposal is examined by the DoPT.
- The documents are sent to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) for its remarks.
- After receiving the CVC’s observations, the file is forwarded to the PMO for a decision on prosecution sanction.
- The Centre has said the present matter is being accorded priority.
Patel told the court that the DoPT had received a large volume of documents from the Tamil Nadu government, running into thousands of pages, which required examination before the file could be sent to the CVC.
₹98.25-Crore Tender Case
The proceedings relate to a case registered by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) concerning alleged irregularities worth ₹98.25 crore in contracts awarded for works in the Chennai and Coimbatore corporations.
The alleged irregularities relate to the period when S.P. Velumani was Tamil Nadu’s Minister for Municipal Administration during the previous AIADMK government.
The case also involves IAS officers Kandasamy and Vijaya Karthikeyan. The matter came before the High Court through proceedings initiated by Arappor Iyakkam, which has sought action in connection with delays in the case.
Sanction for Velumani Already Granted
The DVAC registered the case in 2021. According to reports before the High Court, the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Speaker granted sanction to prosecute Velumani on February 12, 2024.
The prosecution sanction for the two IAS officers, however, remained pending with the Centre. The Tamil Nadu government subsequently forwarded its proposal to the DoPT. Earlier proceedings recorded that the State had sent the proposal to the Union government in November 2025.
Court Grants Two Months for Further Action
The Centre told the High Court that the sanction process would be completed within two months.
Justice Venkatesh recorded the submission and adjourned the matter to November 12, 2026. The court also directed the DoPT Joint Secretary to file an affidavit explaining the complete process followed on the sanction proposal from November 2025 until a decision is taken by the PMO.
The case remains pending before the Madras High Court, and no prosecution sanction for the two IAS officers had been granted as of the September 16 hearing.
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