The Madras High Court on Tuesday (22 September 2026) dismissed a petition filed by former DMK Minister MRK Panneerselvam seeking discharge from a corruption case concerning allegations of possessing disproportionate assets, as reported in LiveLaw.
Justice V. Lakshminarayanan dismissed the plea. The case relates to allegations that Panneerselvam and his family members had accumulated wealth disproportionate to their known sources of income during his tenure as Minister for Backward Classes and Welfare from 1996 to 2001 and later as Minister for Health and Family Welfare from 2006 to 2011.
The proceedings have been pending for several years, with the case having undergone multiple rounds before the trial court and the High Court.
In 2016, the Special Judge at Cuddalore had discharged Panneerselvam from the case. The State subsequently challenged the discharge order by filing a revision petition before the High Court.
In April 2025, the Madras High Court set aside the discharge order and directed the Special Court to frame charges and proceed with the trial on a day-to-day basis.
While setting aside the discharge, the High Court had observed that there was prima facie material to proceed against Panneerselvam and his family members. The High Court had also held that the findings recorded by the trial court were perverse and warranted interference.
Following the High Court’s order, the matter was remanded to the Special Court at Cuddalore for further proceedings.
Panneerselvam subsequently approached the High Court challenging the criminal proceedings under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), corresponding to Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). He contended that the continuation of the proceedings amounted to an abuse of the process of law.
Those petitions were later withdrawn by Panneerselvam, with liberty granted to raise the grounds before the appropriate forum.
Thereafter, Panneerselvam and the other accused approached the Special Court, the Principal District and Sessions Court, Cuddalore with a discharge petition. The Special Court dismissed the discharge plea, following which the accused approached the Madras High Court seeking relief.
Sanction Argument
Before the High Court, Senior Counsel R. Shanmugasundaram, appearing for Panneerselvam, argued that there was no valid sanction for prosecuting the former Minister in the present case.
The defence submitted that when the court took cognisance of the case in 2025, Panneerselvam was serving as a Cabinet Minister. Therefore, according to the defence, sanction from the Governor was mandatory before the prosecution could proceed.
The prosecution opposed the argument.
Government Advocate Arun Anbumani contended that Panneerselvam was not an MLA at the time the FIR was registered or when the chargesheet was filed. Therefore, the prosecution argued that no sanction was required to prosecute him in the case.
The High Court, on Tuesday, dismissed Panneerselvam’s plea seeking discharge, leaving the disproportionate assets proceedings to continue before the trial court.
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