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The Madras High Court has decided to hear on merits a plea filed by Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Marie Wilson, seeking to quash a criminal case pending against him before the Judicial Magistrate, Puducherry, for allegedly assaulting his sister-in-law.

Justice V Lakshminarayanan decided to consider the matter on merits after the counsel for the parties informed the court that the mediation talks had failed. Meanwhile, the court has dispensed with the personal appearance of the Minister before the Judicial Magistrate Court.

It may be noted that on July this year, the court had ordered mediation after being informed that there was a possibility of amicable settlement between the parties, since they were close relatives. The court had thus directed the Mediation and Conciliation Centre attached to the High Court to take up the case and conclude the mediation proceedings on or before August 17 and to submit a report before the court.

Following this, when the matter came up for hearing before the court, the counsel appearing for the de facto complainant (sister-in-law) informed the court that they did not want to mediate the issue.

Wilson's counsel alleged that the de facto complainant was changing their stance and though four rounds of mediation talks had taken place, it did not lead to any positive result.

The de facto complainant informed the court that she had agreed to mediation only because the court had suggested the same and that she did not wish to mediate the matter. When Wilson's counsel insisted that the matter be sent for mediation, the court asked how it could force a party to mediate when they did not want to do the same.

The court added that though the de facto complainant may have agreed to mediate in the previous hearing, she could decide otherwise at any time during the mediation proceedings. The court thus decided to hear the case on merits and adjourned the case to August 28.

The case against the Minister was lodged by the Puducherry Lawpet Police Station for offences under Sections 448, 427, 324, 506(i), 294(b) read with Section 34 of IPC. It was alleged that the Minister and his father had trespassed into the house of the sister-in-law, abused and assaulted her and her husband (the Minister's brother) with a wooden log, causing injuries, and had criminally intimidated them. It was alleged that the assault arose out of a dispute relating to the adoption and upbringing of a minor child.

Counsel for the Petitioner: Mr. Haja Mohideen Gisthi

Counsel for the Respondent: Mr. Ramasamy Meiyappan Government Advocate

Case Title: Marie Wilson v The Station House Officer and Another

Case No: Crl OP No. 18057 of 2026

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