MADURAI: The Madras High Court on Wednesday, July 3, 2024 nullified the conviction and three year sentence imposed by a trial court in 2019 on then Youth Welfare and Sports Development Minister P. Balakrishna Reddy in a case of riots that took place in 1998 at Krishnagiri district against illicit arrack.
G. Jayachandran J allowed appeals filed by the ex-Minister and other 15 convicts against special court verdicts for MP/MLA cases that were hand down by them in January 2019 at Chennai. A faulty decision to include them as criminals is what Justice G. Jayachandran told.
It was because of his conviction that created waves within political circles in 2019 because he was disqualified from continuing as a member of the then AIADMK Cabinet when sentenced beyond two years. He resigned after his trial court ruling.
However, this former minister did not have to go to prison because the trial judge had ordered suspension of the sentence until all sixteen accused persons preferred appeals before this Court within a given time frame.
This group was consisted of thirteen join appealers while two separate appeals were presented by former Minister C.V. Venkataramanappa and M. Govinda Reddy before the High Court individually.
But even though the said MLA made desperate attempts during 2019 to secure stay of conviction so as to get back into his seat among ministers. Justice V Parthiban who has since retired while giving judgement in 2019 refused staying even sentence only that. If there is no stay on the sentence itself, there can be no question of staying its conviction, he observed.
Then police vehicles repaired buses owned by government set ablaze deliberately during Bagalur village riots near Hosur in 1998 but at the same time. Violence broke out when protestors wanted alleged non-action against illicit arrack sellers by police.
“The appellant may not have been an MLA in 1998 but what he had done. Which was prove in the trial court, was an affront to the rule of law. This court is unable to comprehend as to how a yester year law breaker can claim to continue as law framer,” Justice Parthiban said while denying interim relief.
Then Supreme Court stayed these sentences and now High Court commenced final arguments on criminal appeals filed by all the sixteen convicts.
