Big Relief For Minister Ponmudi As Special Court Acquits Him In A Land Grab Case

Allegations surfaced against Higher education Minister Ponmudi while he was a Minister of Transport from 1996 to 2001 under the DMK government.

In a big relief for DMK leader K Ponmudi, a special court in Chennai ordered his and nine others’ acquittal from a land grabbing case filed by the Anti-corruption Wing back in 2003.

Allegations surfaced against higher education Minister Ponmudi while he was a minister of Transport from 1996 to 2001 under the same DMK government. According to the allegations leveled against Ponmudy, he misused his power as a minister to grab a land of 3,630 square feet in Srinagar west colony, Saidapet that belonged to the Government.

Ponmudi was also accused of threatening Kannan, who was residing in that piece of land and misusing his power to register it in the name of his mother-in-law Saraswati by creating fake documents and for constructing a building on the land worth Rs. 35 lakhs.

The Anti-Corruption Wing registered a case based on these allegations against 10 people including Minister Ponmudi, his mother-in-law Saraswati, the then registrar Purubabu, Kittu etc. The case was registered on 27.8.2003 and the investigation was completed and a charge sheet was filed on the 10 people in the court on 2.9.2004.

Minister Ponmudi went for an appeal in the same court to acquit him from the case and the court even acquitted him on 26.4.2007. But the Anti-Corruption wing went for an appeal in the Madras High court against the acquittal and on 6.9.2017 the Madras High court dismissed the special court’s order and the judicial probe continued to take place in the Special court that hears cases on MPs and MLAs.

The Special court during the acquittal order stated that the “facts weren’t enough to prove the allegations on minister Ponmudi and the seven other accused.