No interim relief for E.V. Velu as High Court lets lake-bed excavation probe proceed

The Madras High Court has declined to grant interim relief to former DMK minister E.V. Velu and his son E.V. Kumaran in the Malappambadi lake-bed excavation case, and instead ordered notice to the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC), returnable by November 6. Justice V. Lakshminarayanan issued the order on petitions filed by the two men seeking to quash the first information report (FIR) registered against them.

According to the complaint and the FIR, earth was excavated without authorisation from the bed of Malappambadi lake between November and early December 2025, allegedly to level land for a DMK youth wing conference. The FIR names Velu, who is now a DMK MLA, his son, several public servants and contractors. The Justice reports the allegations as claims under investigation; the accused are contesting the case through their quash petitions, and the court has not decided the merits.

The scale alleged is substantial. The case records about 45.7 lakh cubic feet of material removed from roughly 8 to 12 acres, dug to depths of 10 to 23 feet, with an estimated loss of ₹8.22 crore to the exchequer. The complaint says no valid permission was obtained from the Revenue Department, the local corporation or the Geology and Mining Department before the lake bed was opened up.

Activists had petitioned district officials earlier alleging that no effective action followed their complaints; the FIR, as reported, treats that inaction as prima facie connivance by officials. With interim protection refused, the vigilance investigation can proceed while the quash petitions are heard. The next hearing, after the DVAC files its response by November 6, will test both the evidence gathered so far and the conduct of the departments that were meant to protect a public water body.