Supreme Court stays HC order reversing discharge of T.N. Minister, family members in DA case

The Supreme Court on Monday (August 18, 2025) stayed a Madras High Court order of April 28 reversing the discharge of Rural Development Minister I. Periyasamy, his wife P. Suseela, and two sons P. Prabhu and P. Senthilkumar from a 2012 disproportionate assets case, and directed them to face trial.

A Bench headed by Justice Dipankar Datta issued notice to the State of Tamil Nadu on the petition filed by the Minister and his family members, represented by senior advocate V. Giri and advocate Ram Sankar, challenging the High Court’s decision to set aside the order of discharge of the trial court in 2017.

The Minister has argued that these cases were products of the political rivalry. He had referred to a similar disproportionate assets case registered against him and his family concerning tax returns for the period from 1996 to 2001. The trial court had discharged them in January 2017. The High Court and the Supreme Court had not interfered with the decision subsequently.

The Minister said the present case was “foisted” when rival political party, AIADMK, was in power in the State in 2012. The Minister and his family members were charge sheeted under the Prevention of Corruption Act for acquiring assets disproportionate with their income. 

“His wife, and two sons are majors having independent incomes,” the petition submitted. 

“The entire case of the prosecution is based on the income tax returns filed by the petitioner and his family members during the said period which were also scrutinised and accepted by the Income Tax department. It is pertinent to mention here that the prosecution, with a malafide intention, by duplication of calculation, had added the amount carry-forwarded in capital account as well as the assets acquired / balance shown in the bank account out of the capital account, thereby artificially and erroneously inflated the net income, contrary to the basic principles of accounting. It is not the case of the prosecution that any undisclosed property or money or goods found or recovered from the petitioner or his family,” it argued.

The Court tagged the case with another petition filed by Mr. Periasamy. In that case, the apex court had on April 8, last year stayed the trial in a corruption case regarding the alleged allotment of a High Income Group plot in the Mogappair Eri scheme of the Tamil Nadu Housing Board.

The plot allotment had been made to C. Ganesan, who was the personal security officer to the then Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, in 2008-2009. Mr. Periyasamy was at the time the Minister for Housing in the then DMK government. The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption (DVAC) had lodged the case against Mr. Periyasamy in February 2012 when DMK lost the elections to AIADMK. The DMK again formed the government in Tamil Nadu in 2021. Mr. Periyasamy became a Minister. Two years later, in March 2023, a Special Court trying corruption cases against lawmakers had discharged him in the case for want of proper sanction under Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

However, a Single Judge Bench of the Madras High Court of Justice N. Anand Venkatesh had taken suo motu cognisance of six cases of corruption. Mr. Periyasamy’s case was the first one. The High Court had set aside the discharge order of the trial court and put the case back on trial.

Mr. Periyasamy had challenged the jurisdiction of the High Court to reopen the case when there was no sanction for prosecution given by the Governor under Section 197. The Minister had argued that trial cannot commence against him without prior sanction. Sanction for a valid prosecution of a sitting Cabinet Minister can only be given by the Governor, he had noted.