Tamil Nadu minister K Pondmudy was on Thursday awarded three years in jail in a corruption case by the Madras high Court. But he need not surrender yet since his jail term has been suspended for 30 days to allow him to appeal his conviction in the Supreme Court.
The High Court set aside a trial court order as it convicted the DMK leader and his wife in a Rs 1.75-crore disproportionate assets case on Tuesday.
R Ponmudy ceases to be minister after his conviction and his higher education portfolio is likely to be handed over to another cabinet colleague. Under the law, anyone convicted by a court is lose the membership of either the parliament or assembly.
The sentencing came a day after Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi demanded that Chief Minister MK Stalin drop him from his cabinet.
The case dates back to the DMK’s 2006-2011 regime when the convicted leader had accumulated over Rs 1.36 crore in assets. It was brought to the court by the rival AIADMK, which came to power in 2011.
The Ponmudy case has added to tensions between the Tamil Nadu government and the Governor.