CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has temporarily stayed proceedings in the disproportionate assets (DA) case against Minister for Fisheries and Animal Husbandry Anitha R Radhakrishnan and his family members pending before the Principal Sessions and District Court in Thoothukudi.
The interim stay was granted on Wednesday by a bench comprising Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan, on a petition filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) seeking transfer of the case to the special court for PMLA cases in Madurai. The bench adjourned the matter to April 30.
The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) had registered the case in 2019 against Radhakrishnan for amassing assets worth Rs 2.07 crore disproportionate to his known sources of income during 2001-06, when he held the housing and urban development portfolio.
Subsequently, the ED registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against the minister and others. When its plea for transferring the case to Madurai was rejected by the district court, it approached the high court.