Former minister Anita Radhakrishnan and 6 others acquitted in disproportionate assets case

Tiruchendur DMK MLA Anita R. Radhakrishnan walked out of the Thoothukudi Principal District and Sessions Court on Tuesday after it acquitted him and his family of disproportionate assets. | Photo credit: N. Rajesh

The Thoothukudi Chief District and Sessions Court on Tuesday acquitted Tiruchendur DMK MLA and former minister Anita R. Radhakrishnan, his wife, sons and brothers in the disproportionate assets case filed against them.

The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) case was that when he was Minister for Housing and Urban Development in the Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK government from 2001 to 2006, Mr. Radhakrishnan amassed assets disproportionate to his known sources of income of ₹ 07 in Jayala Gandhi, brothers Shanmuganandan and Sivanandan and sons Anantha Padmanabhan, Anantha Ramakrishnan and Ananatha Maheshwaran.

This case was registered after the DMK returned to power in 2006. In 2009, Mr. Radhakrishnan defected to the DMK. Subsequently, the DVAC under the DMK government led by M Karunanidhi decided to close the case “due to deficiencies in the facts”.

When the Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK came back to power in 2011, the case was revived and the trial lasted nearly 15 years. In the meantime, the executive directorate also submitted a proposal for application in this matter. However, the court of first instance dismissed the claim.

Subsequently, the ED moved the Special Money Laundering Court in Madurai to take cognizance of the case. She also approached the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court to transfer the disproportionate assets case to a special court.

The Madurai Bench granted an interim stay in the Thoothukudi court, but Mr. Radhakrishnan had it vacated. The High Court also ruled that the disproportionate assets case cannot be referred to the Special Money Laundering Court in Madurai.

After the trial was over, Principal District and Sessions Judge S. Subha Devi acquitted all the seven accused, saying the prosecution had failed to establish the charge.

Published – 03 Nov 2026 21:05 IST