Senthilbalaji, Ponmudy resign as Tamil Nadu Ministers after strong remarks from courts
Tamil Nadu Forest Minister K. Ponmudy and Electricity, Prohibition and Excise Minister V. Senthilbalaji resigned on Sunday (April 27, 2025) night.
A Raj Bhavan release said Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has recommended Governor R.N. Ravi to accept their resignation. The Chief Minister also recommended the induction of former Minister Mano Thangaraj into the Cabinet. The swearing-in will be held on April 28 at the Raj Bhavan.
Also Read | Supreme Court takes stern view of reinstating Senthilbalaji as Tamil Nadu Cabinet Minister
In the wake of their resignations, Mr. Ponmudy's department has been allotted to Milk and Dairy Development Minister R.S. Rajakannappan. Transport Minister S.S. Sivasankar will hold the portfolio of Electricity, while Housing and Urban Development Minister S. Muthusamy will hold Prohibition and Excise departments held by Mr. Senthilbalaji.
The continuation of Mr. Ponmudy and Mr. Senthibalaji became untenable after courts made strong remarks against them.
In the case of Mr. Senthilbalaji, the Supreme Court made it clear that he had to make a choice between his Minister post and freedom. This is the second time he is stepping down as a Minister. Though he continued as a Minister without portfolio after his arrest in June 2023 by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case, he resigned from the Cabinet on February 12, 2024. He was reinstated after the Supreme Court granted him bail in the case on September 26, 2024.
But a Supreme Court Bench took objection to his induction into the Cabinet and Justices A.S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan on April 23 said Mr. Senthilbalaji's continuation as a Minister placed him in a position of influence with regard to witnesses, and he could derail the trial.
Justice Oka remarked that the Bench would even record in its order that it had been a 'mistake' to grant him bail and observed that he had been given bail not on the merits of the case but because the court stood up for the fundamental right to personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.
Derogatory speech
Mr. Ponmudy ran into trouble after the Madras High Court directed its Registry to take up a suo motu writ petition with respect to a derogatory speech by him against Saivites, Vaishnavites and women in general. Justice N. Anand Venkatesh issued the direction after observing that the Minister had prima facie misused the liberty granted to him by the Supreme Court which had stayed his conviction as well as sentence in a corruption case.
Subsequently, the first Bench of the Madras High Court granted time till June 5 for the Tamil Nadu government as well as Mr. Ponmudy, in his individual capacity, to respond to a public interest litigation petition filed by an advocate to disqualify the Minister from holding any constitutional post due to his recent derogatory speech.
Chief Justice K.R. Shriram and Justice Mohammed Shaffiq directed State Government Pleader to take notice on behalf of the Home Secretary and ordered notice to Mr. Ponmudy too seeking their response to the case by June 5. The judges directed the High Court Registry to list the matter again on June 19 for further hearing.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
United News of India
20 minutes ago
- United News of India
Calcutta High Court reserves verdict on petition against state's aid to dismissed non-teaching staff
Kolkata, June 9 (UNI): The Calcutta High Court on Monday reserved its judgment on a petition challenging the West Bengal government's recently introduced scheme that offers monetary assistance to non-teaching staff dismissed following a Supreme Court verdict. Justice Amrita Sinha reserved her decision on the petition, which opposes the state's plan to pay ex-gratia amounts of Rs 25,000 to Group C and Rs 20,000 to Group D employees. During the case hearing, Justice Singh questioned the state as to why the decision to grant the allowance was taken so hastily, without any discussion or scrutiny, following the Supreme Court's verdict. Justice Sinha also raised questions about the allowance amount. Addressing the state, she asked, "Why were the amounts set at Rs 15,000 and Rs 20,000? On what basis were these figures determined?" The West Bengal government had launched the scheme to provide temporary financial relief and social security on humanitarian grounds to families affected by the dismissals. The scheme applies to Group C and D non-teaching staff who were recruited through the 2016 selection process conducted by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) and have lost their jobs because of Supreme Court order. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, announcing the ex-gratia payments had said that the aid was a one-time measure aimed at supporting those left jobless after the Supreme Court's decision earlier this month in connection with the cash-for-jobs scam. The crisis began on April 3 when a Supreme Court bench led by then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar upheld a Calcutta High Court order dismissing 25,753 teaching and non-teaching staff from state-run and aided schools. The apex court concluded that the entire 2016 recruitment process had been tainted by large-scale fraud and manipulation. While the court later allowed secondary school teachers (Classes IX–XII) to return to classrooms temporarily, it made no such concession for Group C and D employees. It also ordered the state to complete a fresh recruitment process by December 31. Meanwhile, the state has filed a review petition against the Supreme Court's ruling. 'Since a review petition has been filed in the Supreme Court, how long will the allowance continue to be paid?,' Justice Sinha asked. She also asked the state whether Group C and Group D employees would keep receiving the allowance without doing any work. UNI XC SSP
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Kurt Russell's son Wyatt at Los Angeles anti-ICE protests? Truth behind viral video
As anti-US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protests in Los Angeles continued on Monday, fueled by President Donald Trump's deployment of National Guard troops, social media users claimed that Kurt Russell's son, Wyatt, was spotted yelling slogans. A video on TikTok went viral, sparking several reactions. In the clip, captured by TikTok user @only__loo, a man can be seen delivering an impassioned speech to National Guard forces in Downtown LA. Read More: Los Angeles protests: California governor Newsom to sue Trump admin over National Guard deployment 'You should be standing here with us! You're on the wrong side of history. We know you got a job to do. But you took an oath to the Constitution, not the fascists in the White House! Think about what you're doing now, think about what this means, coming into our community. Peaceful fucking community, people working their jobs. They send in men in military fatigues, weapons of war, into our community. And you stand here and you allow it. I'm sick and tired of it. You should be sick and tired of it," he says. Social media users claimed that the bearded, long-haired man, wearing a Los Angeles Kings hoodie, is Wyatt Russell, the son of Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn. Read More: Los Angeles protests: 'Incendiary devices' hurled at police horses, says LAPD "Actor Kurt Russell's son Wyatt just scolded Trump's National Guard TO THEIR FACES in Los Angeles!' one person wrote in the caption of the video posted on X, platform formerly known as Twitter. 'Kurt Russell's son Wyatt speaks out against what is happening right now in Los Angeles. Maybe a few ICE agents heard what he had to say,' another one added. 'Wyatt Russell—son of Kurt Russell & Goldie Hawn—just did what every American with a conscience should: he looked the military in the eye and told them they're on the wrong side of history,' a third person tweeted. However, Russell's publicist told the Rolling Stone that the individual seen in the footage isn't him at all. 'This is indeed not Wyatt Russell, and we have been working to try and correct the mis-identification."
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Govt targeting 2034 to hold 1st 'one nation, one election'
NEW DELHI: As the govt is expecting to hold the first countrywide simultaneous polls by 2034 after passage of the constitutional amendment bill for 'one nation, one election', all state assemblies to be elected after 2029 will be for a shorter duration to align their tenure with the 2034 general elections. Head of the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) on the 'one nation, one election' bill (The Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024) PP Choudhary explained to TOI that after 2027, the assembly due to be elected in 2032 may have a tenure of only two years to ensure the synchronisation of the next elections in Uttar Pradesh-India's largest state electorally -with the Lok Sabha polls which may be held in 2034. The Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment Bill), 2024, have provisions for simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. As per provisions of the constitution amendment bill, the President may issue a notification on the date of the first sitting of Lok Sabha after a general election, in all probability the one to be held in 2029, to spell when the next general elections will be due. The terms of all state assemblies constituted after this date will expire with the end of that Lok Sabha's five-year term. If Lok Sabha or a state assembly is dissolved earlier than its five-year term, an election for it will be held for a term equal to the remainder of the five-year term. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 전체임플란트 간단 뼈이식포함 300만원에 kimplant 더 알아보기 Undo This will synchronise its next election with the simultaneous elections cycle. Even in states, where polls will be due, elections for assemblies will be held only to align with the Lok Sabha polls. However, the bill states that if the Election Commission is of the opinion that election to a state assembly cannot be held along with the rest of the country, it may make a recommendation to the President in this regard. The President may issue an order to conduct an election for that assembly at a later date. The BJP MP from Pali in Rajasthan, Choudhary, said going by the JPC's working, its tenure may be extended as there was a consensus amongst panel members to visit states and UTs before making the final recommendations. So far, JPC members have visited Maharashtra and Uttarakhand. The bills had been introduced in LS in Dec last year and were referred to the Chaudhary-led panel which has been holding consultations with stakeholders for feedback.
