Supreme Court Suspends Former TN Minister Ponmudi's Conviction & Sentence In DA Case

The Supreme Court today suspended the conviction and the 3-year sentence awarded to former Tamil Nadu Higher Education Minister K Ponmudi in a disproportionate assets case.

"We direct that the appellant shall be enlarged on bail by the Special Court on appropriate terms and conditions," said the Bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan.

The Bench directed that Ponmudi shall appear before the Special Court and complete the bail formalities within a period of 1 month. Till the time these formalities are completed, the order granting exemption from surrendering will continue to operate, it added.

The Court also suspended the sentence of Ponmudi's wife Visalatchi but refused to suspend her conviction.

After passing of the order, Snr Adv Siddharth Luthra (appearing for Ponmudi & Visalatchi) sought to clarify if the conviction with respect to Visalatchi was being suspended. 

Confirming, Justice Oka replied, "not conviction".

"On the conviction aspect, my Lords may say 'this stage'...otherwise, I may have to come back", urged Luthra.

"You can always come back...we have not considered your prayer for [conviction]...", replied Justice Oka regarding the conviction of Visalatchi.

Briefly put, Ponmudi moved the Supreme Court against a Madras High Court order setting aside his acquittal in a disproportionate assets case. The case was registered against him (& his wife) by the Department of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) based on allegations that he amassed wealth disproportionate to his sources of income during his tenure as the Minister for Mines and Minerals in the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government (2006-2010).

The Trial Court acquitted the pair holding that prosecution failed to prove that they amassed wealth of Rs.1.36 crores disproportionate to known sources of income. In December, 2023, however, a Bench of the Madras High Court found error in the trial Court order and set aside the acquittal. It directed the ex-Minister and his wife to appear for hearing on sentence. After being heard, the two were sentenced to simple imprisonment for 3 years, alongwith fine.

Challenging the High Court order reversing the acquittal, Ponmudi approached the Supreme Court. Today, his sentence was suspended, pending disposal of the appeal against the underlying order.

Case Title: K Ponmudi@Deivasigamani v. The State of Tamil Nadu, Crl.A. No. 530-531/2024

(The initial version of the report incorrectly mentioned that the Court did not consider the plea to suspend the conviction of Ponmudi. The Court's observations regarding Visalatchi's plea were misconstrued, since both the appeals were taken together. The report was later amended to rectify the mistake. The error is deeply regretted.)

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