Truth is like the Sun, it ain’t going away: Madras High Court refuses to quash termination of corrupt SPP

The Madras High Court recently refused to quash the termination of a Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) of the Fast Track Mahila Court at Thiruvallur for taking illegal gratification [Dhanalakshmi v State]..In its order, the Division Bench of Justices K Kalyanasundaram and R Hemalatha quoted the late musician Elvis Presley, saying, “A famous quote is "truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it aint going away".”.The Bench emphasised that the public reposed great faith in the judiciary, but the judges relied on advocates to be their pillars, and a government advocate was especially obligated to act in an honest manner.“If he/she goes around with the intention to make money at the cost of justice, only chaos will prevail.”.The petitioner claimed that based on an anonymous complaint, her services as a Special Public Prosecutor were terminated. She stated that this was unjust and unreasonable, and was in clear violation of Articles 14, 16 and 21 of the Constitution..However, the State negated these submissions, clarifying that the complaint against her was not an anonymous letter, but a formal one by the Thiruvalllur Advocate Association.It was the State's stand that her poor track record of losing as many as 150 cases due to her deliberate inaction was, in fact, true. It also submitted that she was given an opportunity to explain herself. Additionally, the post was a temporary one and there was no hard and fast rule as to prior notice for termination..The Court, on hearing both parties, took note of the fact that the petitioner had tried to convince a victim of an offence under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act), and their parents to compromise with the accused by receiving compensation.“This act of hers was in itself a crime against the society and her continuance in the post would result in gross miscarriage of justice for the victims of such serious offences,” the Bench said..The Court also took a dim view of the petitioner’s attempt to give the issue a political colour by stating that a political rivalry had resulted in her termination..It was found that the petitioner was demanding bribes from the accused and acted like an extra-constitutional authority while attempting to fix up compromises in serious offences, and this caused a serious dent to the justice delivery system, the Court further noted..Therefore, the Court concluded that since her appointment was temporary and she was given a fair opportunity to defend herself, there was no violation of the principles of natural justice or fundamental rights and thus, the petition was dismissed..P Subba Reddy appeared for the petitioner while the respondents were represented by Special Government Pleader V Yamuna Devi..[Read order]