T.N. Minister Ponmudy, his wife, sentenced to three years of simple imprisonment in disproportionate assets case

Madras High Court sentences TN Higher Education Minister & wife to 3 years imprisonment for disproportionate assets case.

The Madras High Court on Thursday, December 21, 2023, sentenced T.N. Higher Education Minister K. Ponmudy and his wife P. Visalakshi to three years of simple imprisonment in one of the disproportionate asset cases in which they were convicted on Tuesday.

Justice G. Jayachandran however, suspended their sentence for 30 days in order to enable them to prefer an appeal before the Supreme Court. The judge also imposed fine of ₹50 lakh each on both the convicts and ordered that they both must undergo six additional months of simple imprisonment if they fail to pay the fine.

The case relates to a charge of the Minister having amassed ₹1.7 crore during his tenure as Minister for Higher Education and Mines between 2006 and 2011. A special court for the Prevention of Corruption Act cases had acquitted him and his wife from the case in April 2016.

However, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption preferred an appeal against the acquittal in 2017 and it led to the reversal of their acquittal order by Justice Jayachandran on Tuesday, December 20, 2023. After convicting the Minister and his wife on charges of criminal misconduct and abetment respectively, the judge had directed them to be present at the court on Thursday, in order to hear them and consider the mitigating circumstances, as required under the Code of Criminal Procedure, before deciding the sentence.