Puducherry, July 4 (IANS) The First Judicial Magistrate Court in Puducherry has directed Tamil Nadu Finance Minister N. Marie Wilson to appear in person on July 10 to receive an additional charge sheet filed against him in connection with an alleged assault on a woman following a long-running property dispute.

The court issued the direction after the Minister failed to appear on Saturday, when the matter was taken up for the formal receipt of the supplementary charge sheet submitted by the Lawspet Police.

Appearing on behalf of the Minister, his counsel informed the court that Wilson was unable to attend because of his official responsibilities as a Cabinet Minister in the Tamil Nadu government.

After hearing the submission, the Magistrate declined to excuse his appearance and ordered that he be present before the court “in person without fail” on July 10.

Apart from receiving the additional charge sheet, the Minister has also been directed to receive a pen drive produced before the court by the complainant.

The electronic storage device has been submitted as part of the evidence in support of the allegations against him and forms part of the records in the case.

The case dates back to 2022, when Careline Claude, the wife of the Minister’s brother, lodged a complaint with the Lawspet Police alleging that Wilson had unlawfully entered her residence in Ezhil Nagar, Puducherry, and assaulted and verbally abused her during a dispute over family property.

Based on the complaint, the police registered a case and initiated an investigation.

However, the complainant later approached the court, contending that the police had invoked only minor provisions of the law despite the seriousness of the allegations.

Accepting her plea for further examination, the court directed the police to conduct an additional investigation and file a fresh charge sheet incorporating more serious penal provisions, if warranted by the evidence collected during the probe.

Following the court’s direction, the Lawspet Police completed the supplementary investigation and submitted the additional charge sheet before the Magistrate Court.

As required under criminal procedure, the accused must be formally served with the supplementary charge sheet before further proceedings can continue.

The court has now made it clear that the Minister’s personal appearance on July 10 is mandatory for receiving the documents and moving the case to the next stage of the trial.

–IANS

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