Chennai, July 25:  The Madras High Court on Wednesday ordered DVAC (Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption) to soon finish the probe against Tamil Nadu deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and family in a disproportionate assets case.

Earlier, Advocate General Vijay Narayan, appearing before the Madras High Court on Tuesday, told the court that an investigation regarding allegations of amassing wealth has been initiated against Panneerselvam and his family. The report also mentions that the AG told court about the starting date of investigations being July 18.

The DMK had lodged a complaint with the DVAC in March 2018, accusing Panneerselvam of corruption and bribe.

The Opposition party had also alleged that the Deputy CM and his associates have “amassed wealth beyond the known source of income and invested the same in companies and properties either in his name or in the names of others,” according to news agency.

What makes things difficult for O Panneerselvam is the diary entries by mining baron Sekar Reddy, which mentions the name of Deputy CM and states that he and his associates received Rs four crores withing six months.

The DMK had filed a PIL in the Madras High Court and had accused the DVAC of not having acted on a corruption charge against a public servant.

After the PIL, the Madras High Court had questioned the DVAC about the lack of action taken against the complaint.

Senior counsel NR Elango, who has appeared for the DMK, cited the Lalita Kumari case to emphasize that due procedures must be followed in the probe. Justice Jayachandran, reportedly, also explored the possibility of a CBI investigation owing to the non-action by DVAC.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 25, 2018 10:15 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).