MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court on Tuesday dismissed the bail petition filed by P Ponvasanth (49), husband of Madurai mayor Indrani, in the Madurai Corporation property tax scam case. The court granted bail to P Ravichandran, one of the bill collectors who was arrested in the 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. Over 20 people have been arrested in the case so far.
Ponvasanth, who was arrested on August 12, claimed he had been falsely implicated merely based on the confession of two co-accused.
Stating that he suffers from cardiac disease, diabetes and other ailments and was admitted in ICU of the Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) after his arrest, Ponvasanth said continued incarceration would further worsen his health.
Considering the objections raised by the prosecution that the investigation is still at a nascent stage, Justice S Srimathy dismissed his plea.