The Madras High Court has directed a Special Court in Dindigul district to frame charges against Tamil Nadu Minister I. Periyasamy and his family members in connection with a disproportionate assets case amounting to Rs 2.1 crore. Justice P. Velmurugan issued this directive on Monday, April 28, 2025, while hearing criminal revision petitions filed by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC), challenging a previous order by the Special Court that had discharged Periyasamy and his family from the case.
The High Court's decision overturns the Special Court's earlier order, effectively reopening the proceedings against the DMK leader and current Minister for Rural Development. Justice Velmurugan has mandated that the Special Court conduct the trial on a day-to-day basis, with a strict timeline of six months for completion. This accelerated timeline underscores the court's urgency in addressing cases of alleged corruption involving public officials.
The DVAC's case alleges that Periyasamy amassed wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income during his tenure as a Minister between 2006 and 2010. The alleged accumulation, totaling Rs 2.1 crore, is said to be in his name and in the names of his wife, P. Suseela, and his sons, P. Senthilkumar and P. Prabhu. The Dindigul Special Court had previously discharged all four individuals from the case, citing insufficient evidence. This prompted the DVAC to file the criminal revision petitions in 2018, leading to the current High Court order.
Senior counsel R. John Sathyan had argued that the FIR was flawed and based on erroneous calculations of his family's assets.
With this order, I. Periyasamy becomes the third minister in the current DMK-led government to face a graft trial after the High Court reversed a discharge order.
Notably, in a separate case, the Madras High Court had quashed a chargesheet filed by the DVAC against I. Periyasamy on April 4, 2025, in a 2011 case concerning alleged irregular allotment of Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) plots.
