The Central Bureau of Investigation has been directed to take up the case of Gutkha Scam, in which several ministers and police officials were named, by the Madras High Court, while considering two Public Interest Petitions filed by a DMK MLA and an activist.
The important verdict has been delivered today by a bench headed by Tamil Nadu High Court Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Abdul Quddhose.
It is learned that the Income Tax Department is in favour of the court’s directive to hand over the investigation to an independent agency like CBI.
The court has observed that the illegal sale of gutkha (a banned tobacco product) in the state is a crime against the society. The court has cited the aforementioned fact as a reason to transfer the case to an independent agency.
It was an popular English national daily, which have a powerful base in the Southern part of the country, that initially came up with an allegation that the illegal sale of banned tobacco products such as gutkha was growing in the state and the authorities were showing a blind eye towards this problem due to the pressure of some powerful elites which run the administration.
The raids that took place after the news paper’s revelation unearthed several shocking facts related to the scam.
Vignesh. S. G
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