Chennai: Madras high court on Thursday reserved its orders on a plea moved by former minister and DMK MLA E V Velu seeking to quash an FIR registered against him in connection with the highway tender scam. It was alleged that Velu, as a public works minister during the previous DMK govt, released ₹11 crore for road projects that were not executed.The FIR was registered by DVAC based on a complaint filed by anti-corruption NGO Arappor Iyakkam.Concluding the final hearing, Justice V Lakshminarayanan reserved his orders. According to Velu, the prosecution has been initiated against him based on a prior consent given by the secretary to the govt, whereas according to the Prevention of Corruption Act, the consent must be obtained from Governor.DVAC registered the FIR against Velu, 10 state highways department officials and a contractor over alleged misappropriation of funds through payments for road work that was allegedly not executed in 2022. The case has been registered for offences of criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust and forgery, along with provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.The complaint said that although the contract for road work in Karur was awarded for about ₹7 crore in March 2022, payments amounting to ₹3.23 crore were released on March 25 and 28 despite the work being incomplete. It also alleged that around ₹1.5 crore was similarly released for two Nabard-funded road projects in Karur without execution.
