Chennai (PTI): Expressing happiness over the acquittal of his second son M K Azhagiri in a murder case, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Friday said he had always maintained that his son was innoncent and Thursday's court verdict proved him right.

Talking to reporters after Azhagiri called on him to seek his blessings, a day after he was acquitted by a court in Andhra Pradesh, Karunanidhi said he had always stated that the case was foisted on his son.

"It has been proved now," he said.

The Judge of the Chittoor Sessions Court P Durga Prasad acquitted Azhagiri and 12 others in the case relating to the murder of former DMK Minister T Kiruttinan in 2003 in Madurai, on the ground that there was "no reliable evidence" to connect the accused to the crime.

After the acquittal, Azhagiri had said that the case was foisted on him by the then AIADMK government.

The case was shifted to Chittoor following an order from the Supreme Court.The order was passed in connection with a petition from a witness alleging that prosecution witnesses were being intimidated.

Azhagiri, who had a political base in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu, was accused of murdering Kiruttinan in a factional feud. Kiruttinan was a staunch supporter of Azhagiri's younger brother M K Stalin.