# Former minister Anita Radhakrishnan, six family members acquitted in DA case 2026-11-03T20:27:45+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets The Principal District and Sessions Court in Thoothukudi on Tuesday (3 November 2026) acquitted former minister and Tiruchendur DMK MLA Anita R. Radhakrishnan, his wife Jaya Gandhi, sons Anantha Padmanabhan, Anantha Ramakrishnan, Ananatha Maheshwaran, and brothers Shanmuganandan and Sivanandan in a disproportionate assets case registered in 2006. Judge S. Subha Devi held that the prosecution failed to establish the charge. The DVAC had alleged that while serving as a minister in the Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK government from 2001 to 2006, Radhakrishnan amassed assets worth ₹2.07 crore (The Hindu) or ₹2.08 crore (Times of India) disproportionate to his known income. The Hindu reports the case was closed under the Karunanidhi-led DMK government in 2009 due to ‘defects in facts’, but revived when AIADMK returned to power in 2011. The Times of India notes the prosecution examined 79 witnesses and 312 documents, while the defence examined six witnesses and produced 74 documents. The ED has initiated separate money-laundering proceedings linked to the same assets. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The Principal District and Sessions Court in Thoothukudi on Tuesday (3 November 2026) acquitted former minister and Tiruchendur DMK MLA Anita R. Radhakrishnan, his wife, two sons and two brothers in a disproportionate assets case registered in 2006. The court held that the prosecution failed to establish the charge. The DVAC had alleged that while serving as a minister in the Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK government from 2001 to 2006, Radhakrishnan amassed assets worth ₹2.07 crore disproportionate to his known income. The Hindu notes the case was closed under the Karunanidhi-led DMK government in 2009 but revived when AIADMK returned to power in 2011. The Times of India adds that the defence produced financial accounts to substantiate income sources and that 79 prosecution witnesses and 312 documents were examined. The acquittal comes amid separate ED money-laundering proceedings linked to the same assets. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral - thehindu.com (neutral report) Adds political context of case being closed then revived - timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report) Leads with duration and details on evidence and ED action This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Tags: AIADMK, Anita R. Radhakrishnan, DMK, DVAC Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/former-minister-anita-radhakrishnan-six-family-members-acquitted-in-da-case/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/former-minister-anita-radhakrishnan-six-family-members-acquitted-in-da-case/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/