The Kerala High Court has indicated that an investigation may be needed into the admission of former Director General of Police Tomin J Thachankary to a jail hospital instead of a prison cell while he was serving a sentence in a disproportionate assets case.
A bench led by Justice A Badharudeen made the oral observation on Thursday while hearing Thachankary’s plea to withdraw an earlier application seeking relaxation of a bail condition restricting his foreign travel. The court reserved its order on the plea.
The court said the circumstances surrounding Thachankary’s admission to the jail hospital would have to be addressed through a specific order. It also indicated that it would issue a suo motu order for him to be examined by a medical board. The proposed examination is intended to establish whether he suffered from ailments during his detention or whether the hospital admission was part of a conspiracy, according to the report.
The court said that if a conspiracy was found, an investigation would be required to identify those involved. The people who could come under scrutiny include the jail doctor, the jail superintendent and others in the police hierarchy, the court observed.
During the hearing, the bench questioned how Thachankary could travel abroad to resume employment after being admitted to the jail hospital for serious ailments during his detention. The court observed that he entered the jail and was admitted to the hospital, but was discharged only after being granted bail rather than being sent to a prison cell.
The bench also raised concerns about whether a person who had been admitted to hospital could tolerate the physical effects of air travel. The observation was made while considering Thachankary’s request relating to the bail condition that required him to obtain prior court permission before travelling abroad.
Thachankary was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment and fined Rs 30.84 lakh by the Vigilance Special Court in Kottayam on September 17 in a disproportionate assets case. The Kerala High Court later suspended the sentence and granted him bail while his appeal against the conviction and sentence remains pending.
He had approached the High Court seeking permission to travel abroad to resume his position as an operations manager with a jewellery group in Sharjah. The request attracted criticism from the court. He has now filed an application seeking to withdraw the plea for relaxation of the foreign-travel condition.
The next steps indicated by the court are the issuance of the proposed suo motu order and examination of Thachankary by a medical board. The High Court has not yet issued a final finding on whether the jail hospital admission involved wrongdoing or a conspiracy.
