Tamil Nadu Higher Education Minister K
Ponmudy sentenced to 3 years of simple imprisonment in a ₹1.75-crore disproportionate
assets case by the Madras High Court on Thursday.
Besides, the high court imposed a fine
of ₹50 lakhs each on Ponmudy and his wife two days after it convicted both in
the case, setting aside a trial court’s order which acquitted them.
The case pertains to Ponmudy (72)
amassing wealth disproportionately to the tune of ₹1.75 crore in his and wife’s
name which was 65.99 per cent more than his known sources of income when he was
a minister in the DMK-led regime during 2006 to 2011.
They were, however, acquitted by a trial
court in Villupuram in 2016. On Tuesday, the high court set aside that verdict
and noted that the charge of offence punishable under the Prevention of
Corruption Act, 1988, stands proved against both accused.
“A complete miscarriage of justice had
occurred by the omission of reliable evidence and by mis-interpretation of the
evidence,” Justice Jayachandran noted.
“…the overwhelming evidence against the
respondents and the unsustainable reasons given by the trial court for acquittal
by ignoring those evidence compel this court to declare the judgment of the
trial court is palpably wrong, manifestly erroneous and demonstrably
unsustainable. Hence, this is a fit case for the appellate court to interfere
and set it aside.”
The judge held the trial court wrong to
consider the accused couple as separate entities instead of clubbing them
together.
“The trial court has failed to
understand that, the substance of charge against A-2 is that, she being the
wife of A-1 (public servant) holding the assets of A-1 which he had acquired
through unknown source,” the court held. “Whether, the lack of capital/source
to yield income proportionate to the properties acquired in the name of A-2
during the check period is the point which ought to have been first examined by
the trial court…”
NE Watch Desk
