TAMIL NADU EX-MINISTER SENTENCED TO 5 YEARS IN JAIL

The Madras High Court on Wednesday sentenced former Tamil Nadu minister Sathyamoorthy to five years in jail in a disproportionate assets case. The vigilance department filed a case against the politician and his wife Chandra in 1997 for amassing assets Rs 83,32,000 beyond their income.

A special court dismissed the case acquitted the couple in 2001. However, the vigilance department appealed to the HC against the special court’s decision. Justice Jayachandran on Wednesday observed that the special court didn’t evaluate the assets properly and struck down its order.

Sathyamoorthy and his wife have been sentenced to five years and two years in jail respectively. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 2 lakh each. Sathyamoorthy, who later joined DMK, was serving as the state commercial taxes minister during the AIADMK rule between 1991 and 1996.