Justice Anand Venkatesh of the Madras High Court, on Thursday, assumed jurisdiction over two revision petitions challenging the exoneration of Tamil Nadu minister I Periyasamy, affiliated with the DMK, in a corruption case, and the former AIADMK minister, B Valarmathi, in a case involving disproportionate assets.
This recent development marks the sixth instance in the past month where the judge has taken up cases related to the acquittal of prominent figures. These cases pertain to the Higher Education Minister, K Ponmudy, and the exoneration of Revenue Minister KKSSR Ramachandran, Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu, and former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam in cases involving disproportionate assets.
Periyasamy was discharged in a case registered against him by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC). The case revolved around his alleged allocation of a plot belonging to the Tamil Nadu Housing Board to a former security officer of ex-Chief Minister M Karunanidhi during his tenure as the Housing Minister in 2008. This matter was handled by an Additional Special Court for MP/MLA.
In the case of B Valarmathi, a special court in Chennai had previously discharged her from a case involving disproportionate assets back in 2012.
The inclusion of these two cases in Justice Anand Venkatesh's purview transpired during the hearing of a petition filed by K Ponmudy and the DVAC. They had requested that the judge recuse himself from overseeing the revision petition against the minister's acquittal and transfer it to another bench. Subsequently, the judge decided to examine the orders issued by the special court for MPs and MLAs, taking into account these new cases as well.
