Chennai, October 12 (Daily Kiran) : Chennai’s ECR MLA P. Saravanan has approached the Madras High Court, seeking to quash a criminal case against him for allegedly erecting unauthorized banners in the city last year.
Justice V. Lakshminarayanan, who hears cases involving lawmakers, granted Saravanan permission on Monday to forgo presenting the original FIR. The court also instructed the High Court registry to assign a number to his main petition, which requests the dismissal of the FIR.
The court has yet to decide whether the FIR should be annulled. However, the recent directive allows Saravanan’s main petition to proceed for further consideration.
The issue dates back to November 30, 2025, when a police officer on routine patrol spotted unauthorized hoardings in the area. Subsequently, the Neelankarai police filed the FIR on their initiative.
According to the FIR, Sub-Inspector G. Prabhakaran observed the banners near a private marriage hall on KK Road and initiated an inquiry to identify the responsible party and verify whether the necessary civic permissions had been obtained.
The police allege that Saravanan and another TVK official, Ravi, were accountable for placing the hoardings, which were found to lack approval from the Greater Chennai Corporation.
Based on these findings, the Sub-Inspector filed the case, naming the MLA and the party official in connection with the violation. The charges in the FIR serve as the basis for the criminal proceedings that Saravanan now seeks to dismiss. The police acted under Section 3 of the Tamil Nadu Open Places Act, 1959, which can impose penalties of up to one year in prison, fines up to ₹5,000, or both.
Following the court’s approval of the application to present the original FIR, the registry has been directed to advance the main petition for further action. The court will evaluate whether the case warrants dismissal based on the merits of the main petition at an appropriate time.
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