Chennai: In a major blow to Tamil Nadu minister I Periyasamy, the Madras High Court has set aside the judgment of a special court discharging the minister in the alleged irregular plot allotment in the Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) to the then Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's personal security officer (PSO).
A bench of Judge Anand Venkatesh delivered the verdict after all the parties' arguments were completed, canceling the order issued by the special court to acquit I Periyaswamy in the case. The court has ordered a special court to conduct a retrial on a daily basis and complete it by July 31, during a suo motu criminal revision.
Plot Allotment Case: In 2008, it was alleged that I. Periyasamy, then then Housing Minister of Tamil Nadu during the DMK regime, misused his power and allotted houses belonging to the Housing Board to his relatives and to Ganesan, who was the bodyguard (PSO) of the late former Chief Minister Karunanidhi.
During the AIADMK rule in 2012, the anti-corruption department registered a case and conducted an investigation against I. Periyaswamy after the complaint. Police sources said that some important documents were seized during the investigation.
Dismissal of the Case: When this case came up for hearing before Justice Jayavel, the current Rural Development Minister I. Periyasamy stated that the plots were allocated as per the regulations and the government did not incur any financial loss due to this. The houses were sold at the then market price after the verification of relevant documents.
Periyasamy also pointed out that there was no evidence in the complaint alleging his complicity. He further contended that before proceeding with the case, there was no proper permission from the state governor to prosecute him as a minister under the Representation of the People Act and that he had nothing to do with the malpractice complaint.
Justice N Anand Venkatesh, who pronounced the verdict had in September last year observed, "it is yet another textbook case of how the criminal justice system has been successfully subverted from within", while hearing the suo motu criminal revision initiated by him against Tamil Nadu minister I Periyasamy.
