In a huge political and legal blow to the ruling DMK, the Madras High Court on Thursday sentenced sitting higher education K Ponmudy and his wife Visalatchi to three years in jail and a Rs 50 lakh fine in a disproportionate assets case.
The minister and his wife Visalatchi submitted their medical records to the court. They also informed the court that the case was very old and requested minimal punishment, claiming Ponmudy was 73 years old while his wife was 60 years old. Hearing their submission, the judge suspended the sentence for 30 days allowing the minister and his wife to go on an appeal to the Supreme Court.
Justice G Jayachandran convicted Ponmudy and Visalatchi after reversing an acquittal order passed by the Villupuram special court in 2011. The case was registered by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) in 2016, stating that the minister and his wife had amassed wealth worth Rs 1.7 crore disproportionate to their known sources of income.
However, Ponmudy, who commands a huge political influence in Villupuram and parts of North Tamil Nadu, stands disqualified and has lost his ministerial berth and the MLA post. Ponmudy's disqualification is again a huge blow to the ruling DMK. Earlier in July, Ponmudy and his MP son Gautham Sigamani were questioned by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case linked to an illegal sand mining case. He also faces another corruption case, pending in the Madras High Court, when he was the minister between 1996 and 2011.
