With 2,423 corruption cases pending in Tamil Nadu, the Madurai Bench has asked the State to look at exclusive Special Courts for the districts that have none.
Two witnesses in about three years. That was the pace of one corruption trial in Thoothukudi when the accused went to the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court asking for it to be finished. Charges in Special Case No. 13 of 2025, before the Principal District and Sessions Court, Thoothukudi, were framed in 2023 under Section 7(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
Justice B. Pugalendhi disposed of the petition on 10 November and used it to look at the whole State. As of 30 June 2026, 2,423 cases under the Act were pending in Tamil Nadu. Exclusive Special Courts function in only eight districts. Everywhere else, the Principal District and Sessions Judge or a Sessions Judge hears these cases on top of a regular docket.
The State told the court that the Thoothukudi court alone had 80 such cases.
Prolonged pendency of such cases neither serves the public interest nor does it advance the interests of the accused.Madras High Court, Madurai Bench, 10 November 2026
The main points
- The State Government, with the High Court, is to examine the need for exclusive Special Courts in districts without them, district by district
- The State must give existing Special Courts adequate infrastructure and staff
- The Director of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption and the Director of Prosecution must make sure there are enough prosecutors
- The Registrar General is to pursue a proposal to designate Additional Sessions Courts as Special Courts
What the law already asks of trial judges
Section 4(4) of the Prevention of Corruption Act says a trial “shall be held, as far as practicable, on day-to-day basis” and that an endeavour shall be made to conclude it within two years. If the judge misses that mark, reasons must be recorded. Extensions of up to six months at a time are allowed, but the total “shall not exceed ordinarily four years in aggregate”. Section 3 lets the State Government appoint as many special Judges as may be necessary, by notification in the Official Gazette, which is the power the order now asks the State to weigh.
The court said the accused, too, is entitled to a trial concluded within a reasonable time.
For the Thoothukudi case itself, the Principal District and Sessions Judge must endeavour to finish the trial within six months of receiving the order, without unnecessary adjournments.
Checked against official sources on 12 November 2026.
Sources
- Order of the Madras High Court, Madurai Bench (Justice B. Pugalendhi), Crl.OP(MD) No. 11066 of 2026, 10 November 2026
- The Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (Act No. 49 of 1988), India Code, Ministry of Law and Justice
- Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption, Tamil Nadu
