The Supreme Court, on January 12, granted interim relief to DMK Minister K Ponmudy and his wife P Visalatchi in the disproportionate assets case against them. The order comes a month after the couple were convicted on December 21. The Madras High Court had sentenced Ponmudy and Visalatchi to three years of imprisonment and fined them Rs 50 lakhs each. The sentence was however suspended for a month to allow the couple to approach a higher court. Ponmudy also stands disqualified as a legislator as per section 8(1) of the Representation of the People Act, which says that a person convicted for various offences, including provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, shall be disqualified for a period of six years.
According to The Hindu, Justice Satish Chandra Sharma granted the couple interim relief in a chamber sitting.
Ponmudy, who was serving as the Tamil Nadu Minister of Higher Education and his wife Visalakshi were accused of amassing assets worth Rs 1.72 crore, beyond their source of income when he was serving as the Minister for Higher Education and Mines between 2006-2011. The case was registered against them by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-corruption (DVAC) in 2011 after the AIADMK party under Jayalalithaa formed the government. Though the trial court had acquitted the duo in 2016, in December last year, Justice G Jayachandran of the Madras High Court found that Ponmudy and his wife had 65% disproportionate assets.
Read: DMK Minister K Ponmudy sentenced to 3 years in prison by Madras High Court