NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday in its decision refused to grant an interim stay on the 3-year jail sentence ordered by the Madras High Court to former DMK minister in the Tamil Nadu govt, K Ponmudy and his wife, P Vishalatchi in a disproportionate assets case.
The Apex court's two-judge bench, headed by Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan, passed the order on Monday, on an appeal filed by Ponmudy and his wife.
A detailed order of the Apex Court is still being awaited.
The Top Court also issued notice to the Tamil Nadu Anti-Corruption Bureau – Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) and asked it to reply to Ponmudy’s appeal within 4 weeks.
The former DMK Minister K Ponmudy and his wife, P Vishalatchi had knocked on the doors of the Supreme Court on January 3, challenging their conviction and three-year imprisonment in a Rs 1.75-crore disproportionate assets case.
Ponmudy, 73 and Vishalatchi, 68, had filed their respective Special Leave Petitions (SLP) before the Top court challenging their conviction and sentence.
On behalf of Ponmudy and his wife, Visalakhi, advocates Agarwala and Pulkit Tare have filed the SLPs before the Top court challenging their conviction and sentence,
They, in their SLP, sought a stay of the order of the Madras HC and exemption from surrendering.
On December 22 last year, the Madras High Court, in its order, had sentenced the senior party leader and state’s higher education minister K Ponmudy and his wife to three-year imprisonment in a Rs 1.75-crore disproportionate assets case.
Justice G Jayachandran of the Madras HC, in the order, held the couple guilty under the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act, 1988, also imposed a fine of Rs 50 lakh each on Ponmudy and his wife, P Visalatchi.
The court, however, granted the couple one month to surrender before the trial court to undergo the prison sentencing in the case. It did so, keeping in view their age and other factors.
Following the order of the Madras HC, which sentenced Ponmudy to a three-year prison term, he stands disqualified as a legislator from the Thirukoyyilur constituency, in accordance with the Representation of the People (RP) Act.
Ponmudy claimed that the case against him was filed out of vengeance by the previous AIADMK regime and he claimed innocence in the case.