On Thursday, the Madras High Court imposed a three-year imprisonment on Minister Ponmudi in a case concerning disproportionate assets. This ruling was delivered on Thursday, accompanied by a fine of Rs 50 lakh imposed on both the Minister and his wife, Visalakshi. However, the Court has granted a 30-day suspension of the sentence. The verdict was announced at 10:30 AM on Thursday, overturning a previous trial court's decision that had acquitted the Minister and his wife. The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) had appealed against this earlier ruling, leading to the recent judgment by Justice Jayachandran.

According to reports, K. Ponmudy, the Tamil Nadu Higher Education Minister, has been sentenced to three years of simple imprisonment in a disproportionate assets case. Each of them has been fined Rs 50 lakhs, with the sentence being suspended for 30 days due to Ponmudy's current role in the Higher Education department.

During Thursday's proceedings, the Minister and his wife presented their medical records, highlighting the age of the case. Ponmudy, at 73 years old, and his wife, aged 60, emphasized the longstanding nature of the issue.

Earlier, Justice Jayachandran found Ponmudi and Visalakshi guilty of accumulating wealth exceeding their known sources of income by 64.90%. The Minister was held responsible for amassing wealth during his tenure as the high education, mines, and mineral minister between 2006 and 2011.

Previously, on June 28, 2023, the trial court had acquitted the Minister. However, the case was investigated by Villupuram District Anti-Corruption SP Kanniyappan, and chargesheets were filed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau, involving scrutiny of hundreds of individuals. Initially tried in Villupuram Chief Criminal Court, the case was later transferred to Villupuram Anti-Corruption Special Court in 2015 and finally to Vellore District Principal Sessions Court in 2022.

In response to this week's verdict, Saravanan Annadurai, a spokesperson for the DMK, expressed that it was a setback for the Higher Education Minister. He commented, "This is a setback for Ponmudi. He will lose his MLA-Minister but we have options in the Supreme Court."

Madras High Court Convicts Tamil Nadu Minister K. Ponmudy in Corruption Case