Special Judge Anbazhagan seeks transfer

CHENNAI, FEB 25: Apparently upset over the Madras High Court directive not to proceed further with the Special Court proceedings in the T...

CHENNAI, FEB 25: Apparently upset over the Madras High Court directive not to proceed further with the Special Court proceedings in the TANSI land and building case till March 1, Special Judge-III P Anbazhagan is understood to have sought a transfer to another court.

The judge was directed yesterday by the Madras High Court not to proceed with the case till March 1, following a petition from former rural industries minister Mohammad Asif, an accused in the case. Reliable sources confirmed that the judge has written to the High Court, asking that he 8220;be posted to any of the four courts mentioned by him8221;.

The letter has been dispatched to the High Court, sources said. It is widely believed that Anbazhagan8217;s decision is a fall-out of the Madras High Court directive asking him to furnish a report in response to allegations of 8220;biased functioning8221;, levelled against him by Asif. In his petition, Asif had sought that the TANSI case pending before Special Court-III be transferred to some other judge, as 8220;the presiding judge was acting against the petitioner8217;s interests.8221;

Presently, proceedings in eight cases are on in Special Court-III, prominent among which are the three TANSI cases involving Jaya Publications, Sasi Enterprises and R R Industries. In the first two cases, former chief minister J Jayalalitha and her close friend Sasikala Natarajan are the prime accused.

Legal circles say that if Anbazhagan8217;s request for a transfer is conceded by the High Court, the cases pending in his court may have to be heard afresh. Jayalalitha8217;s counsel had earlier sought that the Madras High Court division bench hear their petition afresh, challenging the constitution of the special courts after the transfer of Justice D Raju, one of the judges in the previous bench.