Madras High Court quashes money laundering proceedings against former DMK Minister Ponmudy, son Gowtham Sigamani
The Madras High Court has quashed money laundering proceedings against former DMK Minister K. Ponmudy and his son following their acquittal in the underlying red sand quarrying case. The court ruled that the ED's case could not proceed without a valid predicate offence.
Why it matters
This ruling clarifies the legal threshold for the Enforcement Directorate to pursue money laundering charges when the primary criminal case has been dismissed.
The Madras High Court on Tuesday (October 13, 2026) quashed money laundering proceedings initiated by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) against former DMK Minister K. Ponmudy, his son Gowtham Sigamani, and five others on the basis of a ₹28.37-crore red sand quarrying case.
The First Division Bench of Chief Justice 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 from the sand quarrying case on April 2, 2026.
The orders were passed on a batch of writ petitions, which had challenged the continuance of the PMLA proceedings even after the acquittal of the petitioners from the predicate offence.
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