Read more Former minister Ponmudi, who was sentenced to jail in the asset embezzlement case, has been suspended in the appeal case, and his ministerial position has become a big issue. In this case, Minister I.Periyaswamy’s side has taken the next legal action after the decision to cancel the acquittal of Minister I.Periyaswamy in the case of alleged irregularities in allotment of houses in the housing sector.
A case was registered by the anti-bribery department that I.Periyaswamy, who was the housing minister in the DMK regime from 2006 to 2011, used his authority to allot a house to one of the bodyguards of the then chief minister. The trial of the case was held in a special court in the District Collectorate, Chennai.
A petition was filed in the Madras Special Court on behalf of I. Periyasamy to cancel the case. The court that investigated this had issued an order releasing I. Periyasamy. Madras High Court Judge Anand Venkatesh opposed this order and took up the case for retrial.
The hearing of the case was adjourned to February 13 without a date for the verdict being set. Recently, Judge Anand Venkatesh has given a verdict in this case. In that judgment, ‘the order of the Special Court acquitting I. Periyasamy is cancelled. Again the case should be taken up for special trial. He has issued an order saying that the anti-bribery department should conduct an investigation after obtaining proper approval.
Further, an order has been issued to I.Periyasamy to appear in person and pay a bail of one lakh rupees by March 28 and the special court has ordered to complete the trial by July 2024. In this case, Minister I. Periyasamy has appealed to the Supreme Court against the order given by the Chennai High Court. The appeal is expected to be heard soon.