Justice G. Jayachandran clarified that the investigating officer could summon the BJP leader only if the evidence gathered during the investigation justified it, and even then, only with the High Court’s permission. However, the judge declined to quash the First Information Report (FIR) in the case.
![[Rs 3.99 Crore seizure case] Madras HC restrains CB-CID To Summon BJP leader Kesava Vinayagan](https://i0.wp.com/lawchakra.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/image-307.png?resize=820%2C456&ssl=1)
Chennai: On Thursday, June 6: The Madras High Court restrained the Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) from “disturbing” Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) organizing secretary Kesava Vinayagan in connection with a case involving the seizure of Rs 3.99 crore from three train passengers traveling from Tambaram railway station in Chennai to Tirunelveli on April 6.
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Justice G. Jayachandran clarified that the investigating officer could summon the BJP leader only if the evidence gathered during the investigation justified it, and even then, only with the High Court’s permission. However, the judge declined to quash the First Information Report (FIR) in the case.
The judge noted the statement from the petitioner’s counsel, R.C. Paul Kanagaraj, that his client had complied with a previous summon by appearing before the investigating officer on Tuesday and providing a statement. Despite this, another summons was issued on Wednesday, requesting the submission of his mobile phone and SIM cards. Kanagaraj argued that this was a violation of his client’s right to privacy.
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In response, a Government counsel stated that the three train passengers were close associates of the BJP’s Tirunelveli Lok Sabha seat candidate, Nainar S. Nagendran, and the money was suspected to be intended for election purposes. The counsel also mentioned that one of the passengers had reportedly communicated with Mr. Vinayagan via a WhatsApp call and shared the image of a Rs 10 note.
Kanagaraj argued that if the police needed to determine his client’s location during the call or access his call log details, they could obtain this information from mobile network companies. He asserted that a political figure’s mobile phone would contain numerous personal details and should not be handed over to the police without adequate cause.
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Agreeing with Kanagaraj’s arguments, the judge stated:
“Upon reviewing the summons dated June 5, 2024, issued a day after the petitioner participated in the inquiry, the court finds it to be an attempt to conduct a sweeping inquiry of a public figure to collect potentially personal details. Such a sweeping inquiry under the guise of an investigation cannot be permitted.”
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