Chennai, Jan 13: In a recent development, the Supreme Court (SC) has provided interim relief by exempting former minister K Ponmudy and his wife P Visalatchi from surrendering in the ongoing disproportionate asset (DA) case. The decision came after Justice Sathish Chandra Sharma heard the application filed by the couple in his chamber.The couple had filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in December challenging their conviction by the Madras High Court (MHC). The SLP is currently pending in the Supreme Court for admission.
Senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi and Siddarth Luthra, representing Ponmudy and his wife, argued that the Madras High Court made a wrongful conviction by erroneously considering the income of the couple as a single entity in the DA case. They emphasized that Visalatchi, being a separate entity engaged in various business ventures, generates income independently.
The counsels further asserted that Visalatchi is not a public servant, and the MHC erred in treating her as such. They highlighted that she had established her sources of income, which were dismissed by the Madras High Court.
The roots of the case trace back to 2002 when the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) registered a case against Ponmudy, his wife, his mother-in-law, and two others under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988. The allegations involved acquiring properties disproportionate to Ponmudy’s known sources of income during his tenure as a minister in the DMK regime from 1996 to 2001.
Initially, the lower court acquitted Ponmudy and his wife, but the Madras High Court, under the jurisdiction of Justice G Jayachandran, overturned the verdict. On December 19, 2023, the High Court convicted the couple under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, sentencing them to three years of simple imprisonment.
The SC’s decision to grant exemption offers a temporary respite for Ponmudy and his wife as they await further proceedings in their plea challenging the High Court’s conviction.