The Madras High Court has announced the punishment for Minister Ponmudi and his wife. A sensational verdict has been given in the Minister Ponmudi case. Ponmudi and his wife were sentenced to three years imprisonment and a fine of Rs 50 lakh. And he lost his MLA and minister post. Ponmudi’s Wife requested to reduce the sentence given. Earlier, former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and former Minister Balakrishna Reddy lost their post after they were sentenced to jail. They also ordered him to spend another six months in jail if he fails to pay a fine of Rs 50 lakh. Also, 30 days are given to appeal to the Supreme Court.
When DMK was in power from 2006 to 2011, Minister Ponmudi and his wife Visalakshi were prosecuted during the DMK regime in 2011 for accumulating assets above their income. Villupuram District Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Department Superintendent of Police Kanniyappan has filed a case against both. In this case, more than a hundred people were investigated and charge sheets were filed. It was reported that Minister Ponmudi and his wife Vishalakshi have accumulated assets of over Rs 1.75 crore.
The case was tried in Villupuram Chief Criminal Court. In 2015, the case was transferred to the Villupuram Anti-corruption Special Court. A chargesheet was filed in this case. It was said that he had added property above income of Rs.1 crore 36 lakhs. The case was heard by Justice Sundaramoorthy. In the court, 39 witnesses were investigated, including Andhra State Tahsildar and bank officials. Ponmudi and his wife were acquitted of the case as there was no evidence of the crime against them.
After that, an appeal was raised against Ponmudi by DVAC Justice Anand Venkatesh from the Madras High Court decided to review Ponmudi’s case on August 10. This came as part of his initiative to re-examine the acquittals of six politicians, including ministers. Justice Jayachandran took over the case due to a change in the court’s schedule. After that, he was moved to another session. After that Justice Jayachandran heard the case. Justice Jayachandran convicted Ponmudi and his wife and gave a sentence today.
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