The Madras High Court has declined to issue new directions for an investigation against senior IPS officer Davidson Devasirvatham in the high-profile fake passport case, advising the petitioner to instead approach the trial court if he wishes to pursue the matter.
The ruling was delivered by a bench comprising Chief Justice M.M. Srivastava and Justice Arulmurugan, who were hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by a person named Varahi. The PIL sought a comprehensive investigation into the creation of over 200 fake passports using forged documents in Madurai, allegedly during Mr. Devasirvatham’s tenure as the city’s Police Commissioner.
During the proceedings, the Tamil Nadu government informed the court that the matter had already been scrutinized by the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court. The government counsel stated that the Madurai Bench had previously ruled that IPS officer Davidson Devasirvatham was not personally involved in the issuance of the fraudulent passports.
Elaborating on the action already taken, the government submitted that based on the directions of the Madurai Bench, a thorough investigation had been conducted. This led to the filing of chargesheets against more than 50 individuals, including five policemen, for their alleged roles in the scam.
Taking the government’s submission into account, the Chennai bench noted that the earlier order from the single judge of the Madurai Bench had already been upheld by a two-judge bench of the same court. Given that this previous litigation had concluded with a finding on the officer’s non-involvement, the judges stated that no further directions could be issued by the High Court on the specific petition against Mr. Devasirvatham.
The bench advised the petitioner, Varahi, that if he still desired an investigation specifically targeting the IPS officer, the appropriate legal recourse would be to approach the trial court currently handling the case.
The hearing was adjourned to 7 October 2025.
(With inputs from Daily Thanthi)
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