Higher Education Minister in the DMK Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin is K. Ponmudi has been sentenced to 3 years imprisonment by the Madras High Court in the disproportionate assets case. Along with this, a fine of ₹ 50 lakh has also been imposed on him. The court has also imposed a fine of ₹50 lakh on his wife. The Madras High Court had convicted Ponmudi on December 19 and sentenced him to December 21, 2023. Now both his ministerial post and assembly membership can be lost.
Ponmudi is accused of increasing his and his wife’s wealth by ₹1.7 crore between 2006 and 2010. This income does not match his stated sources. Tamil Nadu’s Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Department (DVAC) reported that he and his wife’s assets were worth ₹2.71 crore in early 2006, which increased to ₹6.27 crore in 2011.
Of this increased income, no account of ₹1.7 crore was found. On this basis, a case was initiated against him. A case was first registered against him in the Villupuram district court, but in 2016 the district court released him and his wife saying that the evidence presented against him was not complete and that his wife was earning income from sources like agriculture.
