Additional chief metropolitan magistrate S Malarmathy on Friday refused to grant relief to AIADMK deputy general secretary TTV Dinakaran in a 20-year-old case registered under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA).
The AIADMK leader, who appeared in front of the additional chief metropolitan magistrate on Friday, was accused in 1996 of violating the FERA for acquiring foreign currency with a value of $1,049,333,13 from non-authorised dealers in foreign exchange.
The Enforcement Directorate had imposed a Rs 28-crore penalty against him.
The Madras high court confirmed the order of the FERA Board in January of this year, overturning a previous ruling by the ACMM court, which had discharged Dinakaran from the case.
Dinakaran’s counsel, MA Jenasenan, urged the court to adjourn the case stating that his client had already appealed against the high court order in the Supreme Court.
He also noted that as Dinakaran, who was chosen to lead the party by his aunt VK Sasikala hours before she was imprisoned in a Bengaluru jail, will contest the RK Nagar by-election, he may be unable to attend further court hearings.
Noting that no petition had yet been filed on the basis of the appeals, Malarmathy said, “I don’t watch television. I am not influenced by what is going on there... (I) don’t (get) carried away by the faction (divisions in AIADMK),” and directed Dinakaran to appear before the court without fail on March 22, the date of the next hearing.
{{/usCountry}}Noting that no petition had yet been filed on the basis of the appeals, Malarmathy said, “I don’t watch television. I am not influenced by what is going on there... (I) don’t (get) carried away by the faction (divisions in AIADMK),” and directed Dinakaran to appear before the court without fail on March 22, the date of the next hearing.
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