Madras HC dismisses bail plea of Madurai Mayor’s husband in corporation property tax scam

MADURAI: The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court has dismissed the bail petition of Pon Vasanth, husband of Madurai mayor Indirani, who is among the accused in the Madurai Corporation property tax scam.

Justice S Srimathy rejected the bail plea, noting that the special investigation team (SIT), probing the multi-crore scam, had arrested Pon Vasanth in Chennai on August 12. The state opposed his bail petition.

Meanwhile, the court granted conditional bail to P Ravichandran, a Revenue Assistant with the Corporation. He has been directed to appear before the police every day for inquiry and to cooperate with the investigation.

Last week, the Principal District and Sessions Judge, Madurai, dismissed the bail petition filed by Pon Vasanth. The judge observed that the offence said to have been committed by the petitioner could not be taken lightly. An investigation was going on. Considering the seriousness of the offence, the judge held that the petitioner deserved no consideration for bail at this stage and dismissed the petition.

According to the prosecution, the scam came to light in September 2024 when the Corporation Commissioner C. Dinesh Kumar detected irregularities in property tax records and lodged a police complaint.

An audit later revealed that taxes for around 150 buildings had been deliberately reduced without following due procedure. Investigators also uncovered irregularities in the records of UTIS, the corporation’s online property tax management platform, and alleged that bribes were accepted in exchange for lowering tax liabilities. (ANI)