Tamil Nadu Minister: In addition to issuing the order, Judge G Jayachandran fined Ponmudy and his spouse Rs. 50 lakh apiece.
In a case involving disproportionate assets, Tamil Nadu higher education minister K Ponmudy and his spouse were sentenced to three years in prison by the Madras High Court on Thursday.
In addition to issuing the order, Judge G Jayachandran fined Ponmudy and his spouse Rs. 50 lakh apiece. To give him time to file an appeal with the Supreme Court, the court also granted a one-month sentence suspension.
The minister and his spouse were found guilty earlier by the high court, which handed down the punishment on Thursday.
The pair was charged in 2011 by the DVAC for violating the Prevention of Corruption Act from 2006 to 2011, the period Ponmudy served as the minister of mines.
Ponmudy is the first Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam minister currently in office to receive a sentence related to corruption.
His 2016 acquittal by a special court (for cases against MPs/MLAs) in Villupuram was overturned by the high court on Tuesday. The appeal that the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) filed in 2017 was granted.
The court ordered the couple to appear in person to determine the exact length of their sentence after finding them guilty on Tuesday.
Ratnavali