More than a year after SRM University Chancellor TR Pachamuthu was arrested by the Chennai police in the medical admission scam, the Madras High Court quashed the criminal case against him.
The FIR against Pachamuthu alias Pari Vendhar was quashed after the High Court was informed that Rs 79.88 crore had been refunded to 125 parents, who had allegedly paid several lakh rupees for a seat at SRM Medical College last year, reported Times of India.
The case was quashed following a directive by the Supreme Court on September 22 to parents who had lodged complaints against Pachamuthu that they would file affidavits stating they have no objection to quashing criminal proceedings against him, if they received the money that was owed to them.
Following the referral by the apex court, Justice MS Ramesh on Monday said, "The investigation in crime no. 143 of 2016 ... is required to be quashed, since all the claimants have given their consent through affidavits," reported PTI.
The High Court had earlier appointed former Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir HC N Paul Vasanthkumar to verify claims and disburse money to 136 parents, who had filed complaints against Pachamuthu.
According to TOI, Justice Vasanthkumar verified and settled the claims of 125 parents amounting to Rs 79.88 crore. Among the remaining 11 claims, four could not be verified, while seven have been referred to the court.
Pachamuthu, the founder of IJK party, an ally of the BJP and the founder of one of the biggest private chain of educational institutions, was arrested in August 2016 on charges of cheating more than 100 parents of several lakh rupees on the promise of allotting medical seats to their children. He was later released on bail after he deposited Rs 75 crore and furnished Rs 10 crore as bank guarantee.
The case against the education baron unravelled after his aide Madhan, a film producer and Managing Partner of Vendhar Movies went missing in May 2016.
According to complaints lodged with the police, Madhan, who had allegedly acted as an agent, had collected Rs 75 crore from parents to secure admission in the medical college belonging to SRM group. However, Madhan disappeared in May after a purportedly writing a note that the money collected from the parents have been given to the SRM Group, and that he was going to kill himself.
Madhan was eventually arrested in Tirupur in November last year after six months of hiding out in several places across the country.