The Madras High Court on Friday upheld the order of a trial court, which convicted and sentenced Papanasam MLA M H Jawahirullah and four others in connection with a cheating case.
Justice P Velmurugan dismissed the criminal revision petitions filed by Jawahriullahh, S Hyder Ali and G M Sheik, which challenged the order of the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Egmore, passed in 2011.
On a request made by the counsel for the petitioners, the judge kept in abeyance, the operation of his order to enable the petitioners to file an appeal, seeking either stay or suspension of the order.
Jawahirullah is a leader of Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK).
According to the CBI, which probed the matter, it registered a case against Jawahriullahh, Hyder Ali, Nizar Ahmed, Sheik and Kalanjim in 2003. It alleged that during the period between December 15, 1997 and June 20, 2000, the accused had hatched a conspiracy and formed an association in the name of Coimbatore Muslim Relief Fund to accept foreign contributions, without following the mandatory motion of registering their association and without seeking prior permission of the Government of India.
They had received foreign contributions to the tune of Rs 1.54 crore, the CBI contended.
Holding the accused guilty of the charges levelled against them, the ACMM had sentenced Jawahirullah and Hyder Ali to undergo one year rigorous imprisonment (RI) and the other accused–Sayed Nizar Ahmed, Shiekh and Nalla Mohamed Kalanjim to undergo two years’ RI.
M HJawahirullah represents Papanasam (Tirunelveli dt) in the current Assembly.
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