Madras HC adjourns Periyar University VC’s plea to quash FIR
CHENNAI: The Madras High Court (MHC) adjourned the plea for quashing of the FIR filed by Salem, Periyar University Vice-Chancellor (VC) R Jagannathan.
The case was listed before Justice N Anand Venkatesh. Counsel for the petitioner said that in 2013 the State had issued an order allowing Periyar University to set up Incubation and Technology Transfer Center (ITTC) to promote incubation activities and entrepreneurial skills among students.
Apart from this, the state also allocated Rs 14.50 lakh to Periyar University for setting up ITTC. On the basis of the GO, the petitioner has established Periyar University Technology Entrepreneurship and Research Foundation (PUTER), the lawyer said.
Counsel appearing for the police argued that the petitioner established PUTER within the campus of the university without the permission of the State and the university syndicate. The petitioner established PUTER for his personal benefit after his retirement in future. He also handed over 2034 square feet of land for setting up the puter which is in violation of Rule 9 of the Periyar University Act, the lawyer said. The petitioner also entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with four private entities and transferred funds, the counsel submitted.
When the complainant, legal advisor of Periyar University Employees Union (PUEU) Elangovan, questioned him about the illegality of setting up PUTRE, the petitioner used derogatory words while naming the complainant’s caste, the lawyer said.
The police have registered a case against the petitioner under various sections of the IPC and the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) (SC/ST) Act, 1989.
However, counsel for the petitioner objected to all the arguments and said that PUTER is registered under Section 8 of the Companies Act, hence the allegation of the complainant is meaningless. Further, the petitioner has presented its agenda for setting up PUTER before the State and the University Syndicate and is waiting for the response, the counsel said.
The lawyer also said that not a single penny has been transferred with PUTER.
After presenting the arguments, the judge adjourned the hearing of the case to Friday (January 19) for further arguments.
