The Madras High Court on Tuesday (4 March 2025) reversed a 2021 order by a judicial magistrate in Madurai that had partially discharged former Union Minister M.K. Alagiri from certain provisions of the law in a 2014 land grab case. The court ruled that Alagiri must now face trial on all charges, including those related to cheating, fraud, and forgery.
Justice P. Velmurugan passed the order while allowing a criminal revision petition filed in 2021 by the Inspector of Police, Anti-Land Grabbing Special Unit, Madurai City. The case pertains to allegations of land grabbing for an engineering college established by the M.K. Alagiri Educational Trust at Sivarakottai in Madurai. The case was originally registered during the AIADMK regime.
In 2021, a judicial magistrate in Madurai had discharged Alagiri from charges under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 420 (cheating), 423 (fraudulent execution of deed), 465 (forgery), and 471 (illegal use of forged document) but ruled that he must still face trial under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 408 (criminal breach of trust).
Following this ruling, both the prosecution and Alagiri had filed revision petitions— the police sought reinstatement of all charges, while Alagiri sought a complete discharge. When the prosecution’s revision petition was listed before Justice N. Anand Venkatesh on 27 September 2023, the judge directed that both petitions be heard together, given their interconnected nature. As a result, Alagiri’s plea was transferred from the Principal District Court in Madurai to the High Court, where it was renumbered and tagged with the prosecution’s 2021 petition.
With the change in the MP/MLA special portfolio, Justice Velmurugan took up the case and heard arguments earlier this year. On Tuesday, he dismissed Alagiri’s plea for complete discharge and allowed the prosecution’s revision petition, restoring all charges against him.
This ruling effectively returns the case to its original status, requiring Alagiri to stand trial for all offences, including those related to forgery and fraud.
(With inputs from The Hindu)
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