Madras High Court reverses discharge of T.N. Minister Duraimurugan from 2002 disproportionate assets case

Madras High Court allows criminal revision petitions against Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan in corruption case from 2002.

The Madras High Court on Wednesday (April 23, 2025) allowed a batch of five criminal revision petitions filed by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption (DVAC) in 2013 against the 2007 discharge of Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan and his family members from a disproportionate assets case booked in 2002 for having allegedly amassed the wealth between 1996 and 2001.

Justice P. Velmurugan reversed the discharge order passed by a special court in Vellore on February 23, 2007 and ordered that the Minister, his wife D. Santhakumari, brother Durai Singaram, son D.M. Kathir Anand (now a Member of Parliament representing Vellore constituency in the Lok Sabha) and daughter-in-law K. Sangeetha must necessarily face trial in the corruption case.

The judge directed the trial court to proceed with the process of framing charges against the accused and complete the trial within six months, by conducting the proceedings on a day to day basis, since the check period was between 1996 and 2001.

Mr. Duraimurugan, 86, now serving as the general secretary of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party and holding the second position in the present Cabinet led by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, had served as Minister for Public Works Department (PWD) in former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi’s Cabinet between 1996 and 2001 when the offence of amassing wealth, disproportionate to known sources of income, was allegedly committed.

After the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) led by its then leader J. Jayalalithaa returned to power in Tamil Nadu in 2001, the DVAC had registered a First Information Report (FIR) against him on corruption charges and conducted raids at his residence in Chennai and several other places linked to him, as well as his family members, in October 2002.

However, the special court in 2007 discharged the Minister and his family members from the case booked under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) as well as the Prevention of Corruption Act of 1988.

The DVAC had preferred the present criminal revision cases in 2013, challenging the discharge orders, along with an application to condone the long delay in doing so. The High Court on February 27, 2013 condoned the delay of 1,789 days in preferring the revision by taking into account that the DMK was in power in the State between 2006 and 2011 and therefore, the revision pleas could not be filed on time.