Thoothukudi: The Thoothukudi Principal Sessions Court today (Nov. 3) delivered a verdict acquitting DMK former minister Anita R. Radhakrishnan and six members of his family in the disproportionate assets case.
Anita R. Radhakrishnan, the Thiruchendur Assembly constituency MLA, has been serving as the DMK Thoothukudi South district secretary. A former DMK minister, he served as the Minister for Housing and Urban Development and the Minister for Animal Husbandry during the AIADMK regime from 2001 to 2006.
During this period, the Anti-Corruption and Vigilance police registered a case stating that Anita Radhakrishnan had accumulated assets worth Rs. 2 crore 7 lakh 96 thousand 384 in his own name and in the names of his family members, beyond his income.
In this case, seven people were named: Anita R. Radhakrishnan (74), his wife Jayakanthi (66), brothers Shanmuganandan (58) and Sivanandan (61), and sons Anantha Padmanabhan (47), Anantha Ramakrishnan (45), and Anantha Maheswaran (44).
This case was filed in 2006 during the DMK regime. Later, Anita Radhakrishnan left the AIADMK and joined the DMK. Subsequently, during the DMK regime, the case was closed.
In this situation, when there was another change of government in Tamil Nadu and the AIADMK government came to power in 2011, the case against Anitha Radhakrishnan was dusted off and reopened. This case had been going on for many years in the Principal Sessions Court in Thoothukudi district.
Meanwhile, the Thoothukudi District Principal Sessions Court dismissed the petition filed by the Enforcement Directorate seeking to include itself in this case.
Following this, the Enforcement Directorate filed a petition against Anitha Radhakrishnan in the Madurai Special Court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Accordingly, the Enforcement Directorate filed a petition in the Madras High Court seeking to transfer the disproportionate assets case pending in the Thoothukudi court to the special court in Madurai. After hearing this petition, the High Court had imposed an interim stay on the trial of the disproportionate assets case in the Thoothukudi court.
Anitha Radhakrishnan had filed a petition seeking to lift this ban. After hearing the case, the Madras High Court said that the case of disproportionate assets being heard in the Thoothukudi court could not be requested to be transferred to the court in Madurai hearing the case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, and dismissed the Enforcement Directorate’s petition in an order issued last August.
In addition, the High Court lifted the ban imposed on the Thoothukudi court proceedings and also ordered that the disproportionate assets case be completed expeditiously.
Following this, it was announced that the hearing in the disproportionate assets case against Anita Radhakrishnan and his family members at the Thoothukudi District Principal Sessions Court had concluded and that the verdict would be pronounced today (Nov. 3). Following this, 7 people, including MLA Anita Radhakrishnan, appeared in court.
At 4:30 p.m., District Principal Sessions Judge S. Subadevi read out the verdict. The judge stated that since the charges in this case had not been properly proven with sufficient evidence, all 7 were being acquitted.
Following this, Anita Radhakrishnan and his family members came out in high spirits and left in cars.
