The Madras High Court, on Wednesday, August 9, has taken suo motu revision of the acquittal of Tamil Nadu Minister for Higher Education K Ponmudy and his wife Visalakshi in a disproportionate wealth case. The case is expected to come up for hearing post-lunch on Thursday, August 10. The duo were acquitted by Vellore principal district court on June 28 of this year. The case dates back to 2002, and was filed by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC).
Justice N Anand Venkatesh of the HC initiated the suo motu revision by invoking section 397 of CrPC (calling for records to exercise powers of revision), and has been listed on the cause list for Thursday. The section empowers HC or any sessions judge to examine the record of any proceeding before any court under its jurisdiction for the purpose of verifying the correctness, legality or propriety of “any finding, sentence or order”.
DVAC registered the case in 2002 against five persons, including the Minister and his wife, saying that he amassed disproportionate assets to the tune of Rs 1.4 crores, when he was a Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) minister between 1996 and 2001. The case initially came up before the Villupuram district and was later shifted to the Vellore principal district court, where the trial took place. The Minister and his wife were acquitted by principal sessions judge N Vasanthaleela ruling that the prosecution failed to furnish sufficient evidence to prove that the accused were guilty.