A special court in Chennai has deferred its order on the bail application of former Tamil Nadu school education minister Anbil Mahesh to November 10. The plea relates to a case on bribes allegedly collected from private schools in return for recognition.

The application was heard on Thursday by Special Judge L S Sathiyamurthy, who hears cases under the anti-corruption law. After both sides finished their arguments, the judge put off the order.

Anbil Mahesh was arrested on October 26 in the case registered by the Chennai Central Crime Branch. The police told the court that up to Rs 400 crore was collected from private schools on the promise of getting them recognition. The defence said the original complaint spoke of about Rs 100 crore collected by Arasakumar, and that the figure has kept rising since, with amounts of Rs 400 crore and more now being cited.

Defence arguments

Senior advocate Abdu Kumar Rajarathnam, appearing for Anbil Mahesh, argued that the case rests on statements from people who admitted paying bribes to Arasakumar. He asked why they had not been arrested or treated as accused, and said the police could not shield bribe-givers from the law.

He said Anbil Mahesh would not flee or interfere with the investigation. He also questioned why the Central Crime Branch had registered the case when an anti-corruption police wing exists.

The defence challenged the police to produce the video that allegedly shows money being taken to Anbil Mahesh’s house. If such a video exists, it said, it would not seek bail until the case ends.

Police opposition

State Public Prosecutor John Sathyan opposed bail. He said the case was not politically motivated and that the complainants did not initially know of Anbil Mahesh’s alleged role, which came to light during the investigation.

The prosecution said Muthukumar, who allegedly collected the money, surrendered two days after Anbil Mahesh’s arrest, and that Anbil Mahesh had sheltered him. It also said a man named Saravanan carried the money to Anbil Mahesh’s residence, that police hold video evidence of this, and that Saravanan is absconding.

The prosecution said fresh evidence emerged during three days of custodial questioning, so Anbil Mahesh must be questioned again. It noted that the BNSS allows custody for questioning for up to 60 days, and said that granting bail at this stage would harm the investigation.

The court will announce its order on the bail plea on November 10.