Balakrishna Reddy (TOI photo by B A Raju)

CHENNAI: In a setback to the ruling AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu, a special court for cases against MLAs and MPs on Monday convicted Tamil Nadu sports minister P Balakrishna Reddy in connection with a 1998 case for damaging public properties and has sentenced him to undergo three years of imprisonment.

In view of the conviction, the minister stands automatically disqualified of being an MLA as per the provisions governing statutory disqualification of the Representation of People Act.

However, allowing a memo moved by Reddy, trial judge J Santhi suspended the sentence enabling him to prefer appeal in the Madras high court.

The issue pertains to a case registered in 1998 under the Tamil Nadu Public Property (Prevention of damage and loss) Act for allegedly pelting government buses with stones and damaging them during a rally against illicit liquor in Hosur. Reddy was a member of the BJP then.

