Madras High Court upholds 1-year jail term of former AIADMK minister’s 80-year-old wife in DA case

Over 20 years after a local sessions court convicted late AIADMK minister AM Paramasivan and his wife P Nallammal in a case of possessing assets disproportionate to their known sources of income, the Madras High Court has upheld the order and directed Nallammal, who is now 80, to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year..In the judgement delivered on November 20, Justice G Jayachandran dismissed the appeals filed in the year 2000 by Paramasivan and Nallammal, challenging their conviction and sentence in the case..Paramasivan had died in May 2015 while the appeal was pending..In its verdict, the High Court said the prosecution and the trial court order made it evident that during his tenure as a public servant, Paramasivan had acquired wealth which was 400 percent more than his known sources of income. The deceased MLA had acquired several assets in the names of his wife and his minor children and Nallammal aided in the crime by lending her name to such illegal acquisition of assets, the Court said..The Court also refused to show any leniency on ground of Nallammal’s advanced age into account and said that she had been sentenced to one year prison term by the sessions court, which was the minimum sentence for the offences she had been charged for..“As far as the sentence imposed on A-2 for aiding, the Learned Counsel for the appellant submitted that, A-2 been facing the ordeal of criminal prosecution for more than 25 years. The prosecution was laid against A-1 due to political rivalry and her husband, who was public servant is no more. Being a lady above 80 years, she may be spared from incarceration. 56. The offence being acquiring wealth by a public servant beyond his known source of income and A-2 for aiding the public servant, had been sentenced for one year R.I being the minimum sentence prescribed under the law. So there cannot be further reduction of sentence. In such circumstances, the appellant/A2 has to be sentenced to undergo at least the minimum sentence which is one year. Accordingly, the judgment of the trial Court in Special S.C.No.11/1997 stands confirmed,” the High Court said..Justice Jayachandran, therefore, directed the trial court to “secure Nallammal and commit her to prison” to undergo the sentence. The judge also ordered forfeiture of the appellant’s properties for recovering ₹33.25 lakh with interest of 6 percent from 1997..Paramasivan was an AIADMK MLA between 1991 and 1996, and also served as the State labour minister between 1993 and 1996. In 1997, after the DMK government came to power in Tamil Nadu, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) filed a chargesheet against him and his wife claiming they had accumulated disproportionate assets worth ₹38.72 lakh..On November 15, 2000, a sessions court in Chennai convicted the late minister and his wife and sentenced Paramasivan to two years of rigorous imprisonment and Nallammal to one year rigorous imprisonment.The sentence was suspended by the High Court after the couple filed their appeals in 2000..Advocate M Velmurugan appeared for Nallammal.Additional Public Prosecutor Babu Muthu Meeran appeared for the respondent TN government..[Read Judgment]