Madras High Court quashes money laundering case against former DMK minister Ponmudy, son of Gowtham Sigamani

K. Ponmudy. File | Photo credit: M.Vedhan

The Madras High Court on Tuesday (October 13, 2026) quashed the money laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against former DMK minister K. Ponmudy, his son Gowtham Sigamani and five others in the ₹28.37 crore red sand mining case.

The High Court First Division bench of Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan quashed the proceedings initiated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, as the petitioners were acquitted in the sand mining case on April 2, 2026.

The orders were passed on a batch of writ petitions challenging the continuation of the PMLA proceedings even after the petitioners were acquitted of the predicative tort.

What is the case about?

In his plea, Mr. Ponmudy said the Villupuram district police registered a first information report (FIR) against him, his son and others on September 23, 2012. The case was registered under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Mines and Minerals Act.

The charge against them was that when Mr. Ponmudy served as Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources from 2007 to 2011, he entered into a criminal conspiracy and granted licenses to his son, the latter’s friend, Mr. Sigamani’s brother-in-law and others to mine red sand.

The charge sheet alleged that the licensees extracted red sand in excess of the permitted amount without paying haulage charges to the state government. By doing so, they caused a loss of ₹ 28.37 crore to the exchequer and this act led to a corresponding ill-gotten gain for them.

However, after due process, the Villupuram Chief District and Sessions Court on 2 April 2026 acquitted all seven of them, ruling that the prosecution had failed to establish any nexus between the grant of the quarry lease and the alleged illegal gain or conspiracy.

The trial court also noted that the prosecution failed to prove allegations of conspiracy or abuse of office against the former minister. He concluded that the figures for alleged revenue losses were speculative and unsupported by primary data, Mr Ponmudy told the High Court.

Now that all seven accused have been acquitted of the predicate offence, nothing survives the ED’s continued prosecution on money laundering charges linked to the case, he said, urging the Supreme Court to quash the PMLA proceedings pending before the Chennai Sessions Court.

Published – 13 October 2026 15:45 IST