CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has set aside an order of a special court sentencing Puducherry ex-MLA Ashok Anand and his father to one-year imprisonment in a disproportionate assets case.
The special court in Puducherry had convicted Ashok Mohan and his father C Anandan, a retired public works department engineer, on October 30, 2018, under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act for amassing Rs 3.75 crore disproportionate to their known source of income. The duo were also fined Rs 1 lakh each. They filed appeals in the HC against the special court’s judgment.
The charges against the ex-MLA’s mother was abated by the special court after she passed away. The prosecution, CBI, had alleged that the disproportionate asset was 255.93% and the trial court concluded it as 110.59%. However, the HC computed the disproportion as 5.60% by considering all the aspects of the assets and sources of income of the accused persons.
Holding that the prosecution failed to establish that the accused were in possession of assets disproportionate to their known sources of income, the judge set aside the special court’s order and acquitted them of the charges.
The verdict has removed the legal hurdle that had kept the former legislator out of electoral politics and has fuelled speculation that the AINRC-led NDA will field him in the forthcoming Thattanchavady Assembly by-election.