Former Youth Welfare and Sports Development Minister P. Balakrishna Reddy, who had to resign his post on Monday after being convicted by a trial court in a rioting case, has filed an appeal in the Madras High Court challenging the conviction and the four years and one month of imprisonment imposed on him.
A special court for hearing cases related to Members of Parliament and MLAs had convicted him in a 21-year-old case under Sections 147 (rioting), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint) and Section 3 of the Tamil Nadu Property (Prevention of Damage and Loss) Act of 1992. Explaining the case against him in detail, the appellant stated that in 1998, 33 residents of Bagalur village near Hosur in Krishnagiri district had died after consuming illicit liquor. The villagers suspected that the police were hand in glove with the brewers. During a protest, the police resorted to lathi charge.
The appellant had no role to play in any of these incidents, yet the trial court had recorded a conviction and imposed a fine of ₹1.05 lakh, with a default clause of undergoing two more months of imprisonment, without any credible evidence, he claimed.
Since the conviction disqualifies him from holding the post of MLA, he urged the High Court to not only stay his sentence but also the conviction, because failure to do so would cause him irreparable damage which could not be undone in the event of him suceeding in the instant appeal after a few years. The appeal is expected to be listed for hearing before Justice V. Parthiban.