Plea seeking ED case against Naina Nagendran dismissed

Tamil Nadu: The Chennai High Court has dismissed a petition seeking an order for the Enforcement Directorate to file a case against Naina Nagendran and Keshav Vinayagam for the seizure of ₹4 crore in cash from the Nellai Express during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

DMK Rajya Sabha member Girirajan had filed a petition in the Chennai High Court alleging that ₹4 crore was seized from the Nellai Express train during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The money seized in Tambaram was allegedly taken by Naina Nagendran, who contested the Tirunelveli seat on behalf of the BJP, to distribute to voters. The CBI has filed a case against BJP state president Naina Nagendran and former party general secretary Keshav Vinayagam in this matter. It is necessary to conduct a preliminary investigation into this matter, alleging illegal transfer of funds.

However, since Naina Nagendran and Keshav Vinayagam are associated with the BJP, the Enforcement Department has not taken any action in this matter. Therefore, they argued that the Enforcement Department should be ordered to file a case against Naina Nagendran and Keshav Vinayagam regarding the seizure of ₹4 crore.

The matter came up for hearing on Tuesday before a bench comprising Chief Justice S.A. Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arulmurugan. At that time, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) stated that the High Court could not order the ED to file a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. It was stated that only the authorities could make such a decision. The judges took note of this and dismissed the petition and issued the order.