CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has quashed a money laundering case registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2022 based on a 2011 FIR by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) against Minister I Periyasamy over alleged irregularities in the allotment of housing plots under the government’s discretionary quota.
The order to quash the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) registered on June 22, 2026 was passed by the first bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan on Tuesday based on the petition filed by the minister who is currently holding the portfolio of rural development.
The minister prayed for quashing the ECIR on the ground that the predicate offence case against him and other accused and ECIR against the co-accused were already quashed by the courts.
Advocate Mutha Ganesa Pandian appeared for Periyasamy. The ED had proceeded on the DVAC FIR booked against Periyasamy for alleged offences committed during his tenure in 2007-11.
Predicate offence case closed last year
Minister I Periyasamy was booked under Sections 120 (B), 409 of IPC and Section 13 (2) r/w 13 (1) (c) and (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and Section 109 of IPC for charges including criminal conspiracy and criminal misconduct over the allotment of plots under 15% government’s discretionary quota during his tenure as Minister for Housing in 2007-11, according to the petition.
The other accused in the case included retired DGP Jaffar Sait, his wife M Parvin, retired IAS officer K Rajamanickam, and his son R Durga Shankar.
After the predicate offences against these persons were quashed by the courts, the minister moved a petition in the HC for quashing the case against him. Subsequently, the court quashed the predicate offence case against him April 4, 2025, the petition stated.
As a consequence, the Additional Special Court for cases against MP/MLAs closed the entire criminal case against the minister on May 12, 2025. It contended that since criminal prosecution against all the co-accused were quashed and there is no co-accused in the case to proceed with trial; in the absence of co-accused, there exists no element of criminal conspiracy under section 120 B of IPC; and so trial cannot be proceeded for scheduled offences without there being co-accused.
Moreover, it submitted that the entire proceedings of ED under the PMLA became redundant and is liable to be quashed since the predicate offence FIR, charge sheet and the entire proceedings against all the accused, including the minister were quashed by the HC and the Supreme Court.
Therefore, the ED cannot prosecute the minister on notional basis or assumption under the PMLA, it said, adding that the ECIR against Durgashankar, Rajamanickam, and Parvin were also quashed by the HC in 2024.
No direction to register FIR against Nehru: HC
The Madras High Court during a contempt petition hearing in the cash-for-jobs case against Minister K N Nehru noted that there was no specific direction in the high court’s February 20 order to register an FIR against the minister
