Former Joint Commissioner of Tiruchendur temple in T.N. booked on corruption charges

The complainant, a headmaster with visual impairment, recorded the conversation of the alleged bribe transaction on his mobile phone

The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) of Tamil Nadu has booked the former Joint Commissioner of the Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments Department, who was then posted at the Arulmigu Subramaniya Swamy Thirukovil, Tiruchendur, on the charge of taking a bribe from a headmaster with visual impairment in exchange for clearing a file pertaining to pay anomalies.

Registering a case under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act against the accused official C. Kumaradurai, who is presently the Joint Commissioner, HR&CE, Kancheepuram, an official from the DVAC said an audio conversation recorded by the complainant M. Balamurugan, the headmaster of the Priests Training School in Tiruchendur, was crucial evidence in the case.

According to the First Information Report (FIR), Mr. Balamurugan had partial visual impairment, which later developed into a complete loss of vision. He had been working as the headmaster of the Priests Training School since 2007. Since there were some anomalies in his pay fixation under the 7th Pay Commission, he submitted a petition to the Commissioner of the HR&CE for its rectification.

The case was referred to Mr. Kumaradurai, who was also the administrator of the school.

On realising that Mr. Balamurugan would get ₹10 lakh as arrears if the pay anomaly was rectified, he demanded a bribe of ₹3 lakh to clear his file. The headmaster, unwilling to pay the bribe, decided to record their conversation and offered an initial payment of ₹50,000 to the official.

How the case unfolded

On December 17, 2021, Mr. Balamurugan went to the office of the accused official with the recorder on his mobile phone switched on, and gave him ₹50,000. However, the latter asked him to give the money to his assistant outside, as surveillance cameras were installed in his chamber. Accordingly, the complainant handed over the money to the assistant P. Sivanandham in the adjacent room.

The DVAC registered a case against the official, stating his act prima facie disclosed an offence under Section 7(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. When asked why there was a delay of almost three years in registering a case, an investigating official said prior permission had to be obtained from the competent authority as per Section 17(A) of the amended Act.

In 2007, the State government established six Priests Training Schools in Tiruvannamalai, Madurai, Palani, and Tiruchendur to train the priests in the Shaivite tradition, and two schools in Chennai and Srirangam in the Vaishnavite tradition for students from all communities.

Published - September 19, 2024 12:52 pm IST