Chennai: Madras high court on Wednesday directed the Union govt to complete, within two months, the process of granting sanction to prosecute two IAS officers – K S Kandhasamy and M K Vijaya Karthikeyan in connection with the alleged tender irregularities case involving former AIADMK minister S P Velumani.Justice N Anand Venkatesh passed the interim order on a contempt of court petition moved by anti-corruption NGO Arappor Iyakkam.When the plea came up for hearing, the court questioned Sushil Kumar Patil, joint secretary, department of personnel and training (DoPT), who appeared through video conference, about the delay in granting sanction to prosecute the two officers.The officer submitted that a large volume of documents relating to the case had to be examined and that the documents be forwarded to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) for its views. A response from the commission is expected the following week, he said.After receiving the CVC’s response, the relevant documents would be forwarded to the prime minister’s office, which has the authority to take the decision on granting sanction for prosecution in the case, the officer said.He added that the entire process would require approximately two months, and assured the court that there would be no further delay. He also stated that priority would be given to completing the sanction process.Recording the submission, the court directed the Union govt to file an affidavit detailing the steps taken from Nov 2025 till date in relation to the proposal to grant sanction for prosecuting the two IAS officers.The court further directed the Union govt to complete the sanction process within two months and communicate its decision to the Tamil Nadu govt and adjourned the hearing to Nov 12.
