Setback For 2 Tamil Nadu Ministers In Disproportionate Assets Cases

The Madras High Court has set aside the discharge of two Tamil Nadu ministers in disproportionate assets cases and directed a lower court to frame charges against them. The lower court has also been asked to conduct trial on a daily basis.

The cases against Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu and Revenue Minister KKSSR Ramachandran, both senior DMK leaders, were filed in 2011 and 2012 - during the AIADMK regime.

They were discharged by a Special Court based on additional reports filed by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption after the DMK came to power.

Justice Anand Venkatesh took up the case on his own and set aside the discharge orders. The two ministers will now have to face trial for allegedly accumulating assets disproportionate to their known sources of income.

The trial court has been directed to expedite the proceedings, with the High Court emphasizing the need for a speedy trial. The case has sparked interest in the state, with many watching the developments closely.

The judge also noted that DVAC officials had colluded to ensure the criminal trials against the two ministers were "quietly and indecently buried within the precincts of the Special Court."

Mr Ramachandran has been directed to appear before the Special Court on September 9 while Mr Thennarasu has to appear before it on September 11.

The judge also clarified that he has "not examined or commented upon the merits of the case".

There has been a pattern of former ministers - being probed over disproportionate assets - getting discharged after a change in guard in Tamil Nadu. Similar cases are pending against former AIADMK Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and former AIADMK minister Valarmathi.

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