1. SC exempts ex-Minister Ponmudy from surrender
The Supreme Court granted exemption to former Tamil Nadu Minister K. Ponmudy and his wife P. Visalakshi from surrendering in a disproportionate assets case.
Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, in a chamber sitting, granted the interim relief to the couple, whose special leave petition against their conviction and three-year sentence in the case by the Madras High Court in December is pending admission in the apex court.
2. Periyar University V-C arrest | Madras HC to hear T.N. police’s appeal against bail
The Madras High Court agreed to hear on January 19, 2024 an appeal preferred by the Tamil Nadu police against the bail granted to Periyar University Vice-Chancellor R. Jagannathan in a case booked against him under the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
The V-C was arrested on the charge of having misused his office for private benefits by starting an entity named Periyar University Technology Entrepreneurship and Research (PUTER) Foundation without the approval of the Senate or the Syndicate. When this irregularity was questioned, the V-C used slur words referring to his caste, the complainant alleged.
3. Karti Chidambaram appears before ED
Congress MP Karti Chidambaram appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED), in New Delhi, in his third deposition in less than a month, for questioning in a money-laundering case linked to alleged issuance of visas to some Chinese nationals in 2011.
