2016 gutkha scam: Complete trial within three months, orders Madras High Court
The Madras High Court has directed a Special Court for MP/MLA cases in Chennai to complete, within three months, the trial in the 2016 illegal
The Madras High Court has directed a Special Court for MP/MLA cases in Chennai to complete, within three months, the trial in the 2016 illegal gutkha sale case pending against former AIADMK Ministers C. Vijayabaskar (now with the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam) and B.V. Ramana; former Directors General of Police T.K. Rajendran and S. George; and 23 others. Justice G.K. Ilanthiraiyan issued the direction while dismissing a petition filed by Mr. George, who insisted on being furnished with copies of the statements of all prosecution witnesses whom the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) intends to examine during the trial. The accused had approached the High Court after the special court rejected his request on December 17, 2025.
He sought a direction to the prosecution either to furnish him with the statements of all prosecution witnesses or not to examine any witness whose statement had not been furnished to him. Justice Ilanthiraiyan pointed out that the prosecution had not recorded the statements of all 278 witnesses in the case under Section 161(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure and had therefore furnished the accused with only those statements that had been recorded by the investigating agency. The CBI had chosen to record the statements of about 150 witnesses, and the copies of those statements had been promptly shared with the accused. The statements of around 120 witnesses had not been recorded, as those individuals were intended only to speak about the documents annexed to the charge sheet and nothing more.
Observing that an accused could complain of denial of fair trial only if he/she had not been furnished with copies of statements that had been recorded by the prosecution, the judge said, the accused, on the other hand, could not compel the prosecution to necessarily record the statements of all witnesses if it chooses not to do so. “Hence, the trial court (special court for MP/MLA cases) has rightly rejected the memo filed by the petitioner. This court finds no illegality or infirmity in the order passed by the trial court. However, the petitioner is at liberty to raise the said ground as a defence before the trial court in accordance with law.
The trial court is directed to proceed with the trial and complete the same, within a period of twelve weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order,” Justice Ilanthiraiyan concluded. The alleged manufacture, distribution, and sale of gutkha, despite it being a banned substance in Tamil Nadu, had come to light in July 2016 when the Income Tax department had recovered certain incriminating documents during a search-and-seizure operation carried out at a private industry for tax evasion.
The BriefWire