Madras High Court reverses discharge of T.N. Minister I. Periyasamy from disproportionate assets case

I. Periyasamy. File
| Photo Credit: G. Karthikeyan

The Madras High Court on Monday (April 28, 2025) reversed the discharge of Rural Development Minister I. Periyasamy, his wife P. Suseela, and two sons P. Prabhu and P. Senthilkumar from a 2012 disproportionate assets case, and directed them to face trial.

Justice P. Velmurugan allowed a batch of four criminal revision petitions filed by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) in 2018 and directed a special court for corruption cases in Dindigul to frame charges against the accused and conduct trial on a day-to-day basis.

Since the family had been accused of accumulating wealth, disproportionate to known sources of income, between 2006 and 2010, when Mr. Periyasamy served as Minister for Revenue and Prisons, the judge ordered completion of trial within six months.

The DVAC wing in Dindigul had registered the First Information Report (FIR) against the Minister and his family members on March 8, 2012, and conducted searches on their premises before filing a chargesheet before the Dindigul Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court.

According to the chargesheet, the Minister and his family members were in possession of disproportionate assets to the tune of ₹2.01 crore and hence, they had committed offences under various provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act of 1988.

The investigating agency claimed that the assets had been accumulated during the check period between May 13, 2006, and March 31, 2010. However, the CJM discharged all the four accused, leading to the present revision petitions filed by the DVAC in 2018.