Supreme Court sets aside order allowing Dayanidhi Maran’s plea to summon Telecom Secretary
A bench comprising Justices K.V. Viswanathan and Arun Palli was hearing a plea filed by the CBI challenging the March 25 order of the High Court
In a significant ruling on Friday, August 21, 2026, the Supreme Court overturned a Madras High Court order allowing Union Telecom Secretary Amit Agarwal to be called as a witness in a case against DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran. The case centers around allegations that Maran, who served as Minister of Communications and Information Technology from 2004 to 2007, had illicitly established unlicensed telephone exchanges at his residences for business use.
The Supreme Court's bench of Justices K.V. Viswanathan and Arun Palli set aside the High Court's order from March 25, 2026, which had directed the trial court to summon the Telecom Secretary as a defense witness. The Court reaffirmed the trial court's order from October 10, 2025, which had denied Maran's request to summon the Telecom Secretary.
Defense counsel for Maran had argued for summoning the Secretary as a defense witness, but the Supreme Court allowed him this option. The High Court had admitted the Telecom Secretary's testimony was relevant in determining whether Maran, as a former communications minister, was entitled to certain telecom connections during his tenure.
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