A Chennai special court on Friday deferred to November 2 its order on the Central Crime Branch’s request for five days of police custody of former school education minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi in an alleged Rs 100-crore private schools recognition case. The court sent him back to judicial custody and directed that he be produced at 11am on November 2.
Special judge L S Sathyamoorthy deferred the order after several hours of arguments before the special court for prevention of corruption cases. The Central Crime Branch is seeking custody to question the former minister about the alleged money trail, properties held by him and his family members, possible benami assets and the role of former DMK MLA Muthukumar, according to the prosecution.
Anbil Mahesh was arrested on October 26 after the Madras High Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea. The case relates to allegations surrounding the recognition and renewal of private schools, including a government order that extended the recognition renewal period from three years to 20 years.
Representing Anbil Mahesh, senior advocate Abudukumar Rajarathinam argued that his client had already cooperated with the investigation. He told the court that searches had been conducted at properties linked to the former minister on September 16 and that he was questioned for eight hours on September 18.
Rajarathinam said Anbil Mahesh had answered more than 200 questions and provided documents sought by investigators. He argued that the order extending the recognition renewal period had followed consultations involving several departments and that the former minister had only forwarded a representation from schools to officials for consideration.
The defence contended that Anbil Mahesh could not be implicated for what it described as a collective policy decision. It also argued that the custody application had been filed to obstruct the bail application. The former minister’s counsel further told the court that he had lost considerable body weight because of inadequate food in prison and requested permission for home-cooked food and medicines.
Special public prosecutor for corruption cases Usha Rani told the court that adequate medical facilities would be made available in prison. She sought time to respond to the request for home food. The prosecution maintained that custodial interrogation was required to examine the financial and property-related aspects of the case.
The allegations have placed the administration of private-school recognition under scrutiny. Recognition and renewal decisions determine whether schools can continue operating under the applicable regulatory framework, making the integrity of the process relevant to families, school operators and public oversight. The court proceedings, however, concern allegations and arguments at the investigation stage; they do not establish criminal liability.
The special court is scheduled to pronounce its order on the police custody application on November 2, when Anbil Mahesh is to be produced before it.
