TM Selvaganapathy (55), a DMK member of Rajya Sabha from Tamil Nadu, was sentenced on Thursday to two years of rigorous imprisonment on charges of corruption.
The CBI court verdict delivered by S Malaythi, special CBI judge, comes as a major embarrassment for both the DMK as well as the ruling AIADMK since Selvaganapthy was a Minister of the Jayalalithaa-led Government (1991-1996).The judge also slapped a fine of Rs25,000 on Selvaganapathy and four others who too were sentenced to imprisonment for two years.
Following the verdict by the CBI court, Selvaganapathy stands disqualified as a member of the Upper House. Under the RP Act a person convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment on for varying terms under Sections 8 (1) (2) and (3) shall be disqualified from the date of conviction and shall continue to be disqualified for a further period of six years since his release. In the case of corruption cases, the disqualification would apply if the sentence is two years and above, which would apply to Selvaganapathy.
According to CBI, during 1995-96 under Jawahar Rojgar Yojana Scheme, a high level meeting was held by the then local Administration and Rural Development Minister Selvaganapathy in which it was decided to construct 100 cremation sheds for Adi Dravidars in Nagapattinam. Instead of awarding the contract to cooperative societies, it was entrusted to a private company and funds were also sanctioned.
The PWD officials who inspected the shed found that it was not properly constructed following which the case was taken up by CBI. The CBI alleged that all the five accused were found to be guilty of offences of causing a pecuniary loss to the Government to the tune of Rs23 lakh.
Selvaganapthy who was expelled from the AIADMK joined the DMK and was elected to the Rajya Sabha in2008. In another case, Selvaganapathy has been sentenced to five years and the appeal is being heard.The case was filed by the DMK government in 1996 and Jaylalaithaa was arrested in the same case only to be acquitted by the special trial court.