MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court on Thursday granted bail to P Ponvasanth (49), husband of Madurai Mayor Indrani, in the Madurai Corporation property tax scam case.
According to the prosecution, Ponvasanth and the other accused had misused their powers and reduced the property tax valuation of nearly 150 buildings in the city, which resulted in the loss of several crores to the civic body.
The fraud came to light during an audit, following which the then corporation commissioner, Dinesh Kumar, lodged a complaint with the city police in September last year, seeking an investigation.
The City Crime Branch police registered a case in this regard in June this year, and over 20 people have been arrested in the case so far. Ponvasanth was also arrested on August 12 and has been in judicial custody since then.
However, Ponvasanth denied his involvement in the case. Stating that he suffers from cardiac disease, diabetes, and other ailments and was admitted to the ICU ward of the Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) even after his arrest, he said continued incarceration would further deteriorate his health.
His previous bail application was dismissed by the high court last month after the prosecution expressed objections, saying the investigation is at a nascent stage.
However, noting that relevant documents have been secured, Justice S Srimathy held that custodial interrogation is not necessary and allowed Ponvasanth’s plea on condition that he should report before the City Crime Branch daily for a month.