The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has suspended the sentence of five-year rigorous imprisonment imposed on a former Sub-Registrar and his wife by a trial court in Tiruchi in connection with a disproportionate assets case.
Justice S. Srimathy, hearing the appeals and the petitions seeking suspension of sentence preferred by the former Sub-Registrar V. Janakiraman and his wife J. Vasanthi against the trial court judgement, suspended the sentence imposed on the two and directed the appellants to appear before the trial court once every month till further orders.
In April, the Special Court for Prevention of Corruption Act in Tiruchi, sentenced Janakiraman, 79, and his wife Vasanthi, 65, to five-year rigorous imprisonment each in a disproportionate assets case that was booked against them by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption (DVAC) in 2001.
The trial court had also imposed a fine of ₹10,000 each on the accused and directed that the properties amassed by them beyond their known sources of income should be confiscated and handed over to the government.
The DVAC said that Mr. Janakiraman served as Sub-Registrar during 1989-1993 at Thuraiyur, Woraiyur, Musiri, Vilpatti and Kodaikanal. During his tenure, he had unlawfully amassed properties in his name and in the name of his wife. The worth of properties amassed then was ₹32.25 lakh, the DVAC said.
