Chennai, Jan 21 : The Madras High Court has issued a notice to AIADMK leader and former minister Rajenthra Bhalaji in connection with a job racket case dating back to his tenure as a minister.

The single judge Bench of Justice P. Velmurugan of the Madras High Court on Tuesday directed Bhalaji to respond to the notice within four weeks.

The notice was issued following a petition filed by K. Nallathambi from Virudhunagar, who alleged that Tamil Nadu Police failed to promptly and effectively investigate his complaint against the former minister.

The petitioner sought a directive from the court to the Inspector General (South Zone) to expedite the investigation and file a final charge sheet in the case.

Senior counsel R. Sankarasubbu, representing Nallathambi, submitted that the petitioner had impleaded Bhalaji in the current case as per the court's orders.

The counsel argued that the former minister had violated the Supreme Court's conditions for interim bail. It was pointed out that on January 6, the court had transferred another job fraud case against Bhalaji, filed by complainant S. Ravindran, to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

However, Justice P. Velmurugan declined to consolidate Nallathambi's petition with Ravindran's case and instructed Bhalaji to file his response within four weeks.

It may be recalled that in 2021, Nallathambi lodged a complaint with the Virudhunagar District Crime Branch (DCB), accusing Bhalaji of collecting approximately '3 crore in bribes from various individuals in exchange for promises of government jobs. However, none of the promised jobs materialised.

Based on this complaint, the DCB registered a case and arrested Bhalaji. In November 2022, the Supreme Court granted interim bail to Bhalaji, imposing conditions that included surrendering his passport and cooperating with the investigation.

In a parallel case filed by S. Ravindran from Sattur, it was alleged that the former minister had accepted '30 lakh through AIADMK functionary K. Vijaya Nallathambi for securing an Aavin District Manager's position for his nephew.

The DCB had registered an FIR against both Bhalaji and Nallathambi based on Ravindran's complaint.

Despite the court's directive to complete the investigation promptly, progress remained slow.

On November 15, 2024, Justice Velmurugan disposed Ravindran's plea after the government's advocate submitted that the investigation was complete, but the sanction to prosecute the accused was pending.

The judge directed the DCB to obtain the required sanction without delay and file the charge sheet. When the matter was listed again on January 6, 2025, the government counsel requested two additional days to secure the sanction.

Displeased with the delay, Justice Velmurugan remarked that the state police seemed unable to comply with court orders and transferred the investigation to the CBI.

/IANS