Madras HC suspends five-year jail sentence of former sub-registrar and his wife

MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras HC, during a vacation session, suspended the five-year jail sentence of a former sub-registrar and his wife in a disproportionate assets case imposed by a court in April 2024.

The petitioners, V Janakiraman and Vasanthi, sought a suspended sentence of the sentence passed by the special judge for cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act in Tiruchirapalli. The special judge convicted the couple on April 25 under various sections of the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act and imposed a term of imprisonment for five years and a fine of Rs 10,000, failing which simple imprisonment for six months.

Taking into consideration the submissions of the applicant’s counsel, Justice S. Srimathy found that the appellant had raised substantial grounds for appeal and felt that a detailed assessment was necessary and, therefore, he suspended the sentence.

It may be noted that Janakiraman served as sub-registrar in Thuraiyur, Woraiyur, Musiri, Vilpatti and Kodaikanal from 1989 to 1993. During his tenure, he is alleged to have illegally amassed properties in his and his wife’s names. The properties were then worth Rs 32.25 lakh, today it is worth Rs 100 crore. DVAC had registered the DA case in August 2001.