A special court for trial of cases against MLAs and MPs acquitted Higher Education Minister K. Ponmudy and six others in a case registered against them by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) in 2004 for allegedly illegally acquiring government land at Saidapet in Chennai.
The charge against Mr. Ponmudy was that he had, when he was a Minister in the DMK government between 1996 and 2001, entered into a criminal conspiracy with nine others with the intention of illegally acquiring government land measuring 3,630 sq. ft. in Sri Nagar Colony, Saidapet, by abusing his official position and adopting corrupt and illegal means, and by driving away K. Kannan alias Kannappan, who had put up a hut there and was residing there illegally.
The prosecution also alleged that the nine others, being party to the conspiracy, had agreed among themselves to commit, and abet one another to commit, such acts which would help them achieve their objective of illegally acquiring the said government land for the use of Mr. Ponmudy, such as the forcible eviction of Kannappan from the land and the creation of forged sale deeds and their registration in the office of the Sub-Registrar, Adyar, Chennai, by impersonating K. Kannappan to make it seem as if he had sold the plot to P. Saraswathi, a relative of Mr. Ponmudy.
This case was registered in 2004 when the AIADMK was in power in the State. Ten individuals were named as accused in the charge-sheet.
Special court judge Jayavel acquitted seven persons, including Mr. Ponmudy. The judge held that the prosecution had failed to prove the case against them. Since three persons had died during the course of the trial, the charges against them had abated.
