Madras High Court warns government on delay in GO on idol wing chief

Chennai: The Madras high court on Tuesday warned the government it would issue notices to all the concerned authorities if the order appointing IPS officer Pon Manikavel as special officer to investigate idol theft cases is not issued by the evening.

Justice R. Mahadevan, who is sitting in Madurai Bench, interacted with Government Pleader M.K. Subramanian through video-conference and questioned him why the GO on Pon Manickavel’s special assignment had not been issued yet, despite the Supreme Court dismissing the state’s appeal against the high court ordering it.

GP Subramanian told the court that a ‘high-level meeting’ was being held in this regard and the order on the lines of the court’s directive would be issued by the evening. “The GO appointing Pon Manickavel will be issued by this evening”, he said.

Recording the GP’s statement, Justice Mahadevan said if the GO was not passed by the evening, statutory notices would be issued “to all the concerned officials”. The judge posted the matter to Thursday.

The matter relates to an order passed by the judge on July 21 directing the state chief secretary to issue appropriate orders within a week for creating a special camp at Tiruchy, headed by IG Pon Manickavel, with the other members of the state idol wing police, who have been associated with him in the investigation of the pending cases in the state. The IG had been transferred out of the idol wing, into the railway police, recently.

Instead of complying with this order, the state moved the SC contending that transfers were administrative matters beyond judicial concern. The apex court threw out the state appeal while noting that Pon Manickavel had done well in investigating long-pending cases and retrieving invaluable idols smuggled out of the country.