Housing board case: Major relief for minister I Periyasamy

CHENNAI: As a major relief for Tamil Nadu Minister I Periyasamy, the Additional Special Court for trial of cases related to MP/MLAs of Tamil Nadu acquitted him from a case booked against him for alleged illegal allotment of Tamil Nadu Housing Board plots under the Mogappair Eri scheme in Chennai in 2008.

On March 10, 2008, the then minister for Housing, I Periyasamy allotted a high-income group plot under the Mogappair Eri scheme, to the one Ganesan, who served as the Personal Security Officer (PSO) to the then Chief Minister M Karunanidhi.

It was alleged that the then minister I Periyasamy misused his powers and allotted a high-income group plot under the government's discretionary quota illegally. Then in 2012, a case was registered by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) against I Periyasamy and Ganesan in the AIADMK regime.

In 2022, when the Madras High Court refused to discharge I Periyasamy and former CM's PSO from TNHB plot allotment case, I Periyasamy urged the Additional Special Court for trial of cases related to MP/MLAs of Tamil Nadu to discharge him from the case.

When this came up for hearing before Justice G Jayavel, the counsels Ragunathan and Saravanan appeared for I Periyasamy contented that the plot was allotted to the former PSO as per the norms and the then minister did not incurred any loss to the TNHB and it was sold at the market price only.

"The then minister was complicit. The case had nothing to do with the minister I Periyasamy. The case is baseless and filed with a political motive in the past AIADMK regime," they pointed out.

Accepting this argument, the Judge has ordered to discharge the Minister I Periyasamy from the TNHB plot allotment case.