On 30 June 2001, M. Karunanidhi, the former chief minister of Tamil Nadu was arrested along with the minister of commerce and industry of the Republic of India Murasoli Maran and the minister of environment and forests of the Republic of India T. R. Baalu. This event marked the first incident in the history of independent India in which ministers of the Republic of India were arrested. The incident began when the seventy-eight-year-old former chief minister was forcibly taken from his residence located in Gopalapuram, Chennai. Within hours, the images of the arrest were broadcast on Sun TV and other network stations. Footage shown on Jaya TV shows him continuously resisting arrest.[1]
The First Information Report (FIR) was based on a complaint lodged by Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner J. C. T. Acharyalu on 29 June 2001. Mr. Acharyalu became Corporation Commissioner following the 2001 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election held by the Jayalalithaa Government. He had been kept under suspension by the Karunanidhi Government.[2] The complaint related to alleged losses of ₹12 crore (equivalent to ₹48 crore or US$6.0 million in 2023) in the construction of the mini-flyovers in the city of Chennai. The police complaint was lodged on Friday, 29 June at 9:00 pm, and the arrest took place a few hours after midnight. Because there was, allegedly, little time to conduct an investigation, then Union Law Minister Arun Jaitley wrote that "the initial impression appears to be that personal agenda is being given preference over the rule of the law."[3]
Reports indicate that at 1:30 am on 30 June, Karunanidhi was asleep in the upstairs bedroom of his home when the police broke open the door and asked Karunanidhi to get dressed. The police cut the telephone lines to the house. A television clip showed Karunanidhi falling down and being shoved, pushed, beaten and lifted by police officers in the house. Murasoli Maran, who went to rescue him, was also attacked and arrested when he resisted the arrest of the former chief minister. Murasoli Maran, who was sick from his heart with a pacemaker, was admitted to Apollo Hospital after his arrest.[4] T. R. Baalu and thousands of DMK cadres were arrested. M. K. Stalin, Karunanidhi's third son surrendered before a Magistrate.[5] Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee condemned the arrest and demanded a report from Chief Secretary and Governor of Tamil Nadu.[6][7] The arrest was condemned by many groups across the political spectrum[8] including both human rights groups and the Indian National Congress.[9]
The court found several faults with the police's handling of the situation:[citation needed]
The charge-sheet was filed only after 4 years, in 2005. This raised questions as to the conduct of the government.[10]
While Sun TV kept telecasting its footage of the treatment that Karunanidhi and Maran received at the hands of the police, Jaya TV started telecasting on July 1 counter-footage. This showed that the situation was calm when the policemen arrived at Karunanidhi's house. In this version, there is no roughing up or jostling of the former Chief Minister. The situation takes a turn with the arrival of Maran. He picks up a quarrel with the police officers and resists spiritedly.