CRL OP No. 17954 of 2026 __________ Page1 of 5 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS DATED: 09-07-2026 CORAM THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE G.K. ILANTHIRAIYAN CRL OP No. 17954 of 2026 Muthukumar S/o. Vijayabaskar, 701, Mullai Nagar, Virdhachalam, Cuddalore District- 606001. ..Petitioner Vs The State Represented by, Inspector of Police, Central Crime Branch -I, Chennai District. In Crime No.64 of 2026 ..Respondent Prayer : Criminal Original Petition filed under Section 482 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, to enlarge the petitioner on bail in the event of arrest, in Crime No.64 of 2026 on the file of Respondent Police. For Petitioner : Mr.V.Karthik, Senior Counsel for Mr.B. Niraj Kumar For Respondent: Mr.Arun Anbumani Government Advocate (Criminal Side) ORDER Apprehending arrest in connection with Crime No.64 of 2026 registered for the offences punishable under Sections 3(5), 316(5), 318(4) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the present petition has been filed seeking anticipatory bail. https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis CRL OP No. 17954 of 2026 __________ Page2 of 5 2. The case of the prosecution is that the first accused, B.T.Arasakumar, allegedly collected huge amounts from the managements of various private schools on the promise of obtaining Government approvals, upgradation of schools and regularization of unapproved building plans. It is alleged that the promised approvals were not secured and that the funds collected were misappropriated for personal gain. It is further alleged that the petitioner, along with the first accused and other accused persons, was involved in the collection of membership fees without proper audit and participated in the commission of the alleged offences. Hence, the complaint. 3. The learned Senior Counsel appearing for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner is arrayed as A2. He is the vice-president of the Tamil Nadu Government Parents Teachers Association, which is a registered forum under the Government of Tamil Nadu. The entire allegations are only against the first accused and the petitioner has nothing to do with the first accused. The first accused allegedly collected huge money from the private school in order to get approvals, affiliation and upgradation etc. However, the only allegation levelled against the petitioner is that in his capacity as the Vice-President of the Tamil Nadu Government Parents Teachers Association, he collected a sum of Rs.30,00,000/- as membership fees from various schools. There is absolutely no specific allegations against the petitioner in the complaint. He further submitted that A1 has already been arrested and therefore, the custodial https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis CRL OP No. 17954 of 2026 __________ Page3 of 5 interrogation of the petitioner is not required in this case. Hence, he seeks anticipatory bail to the petitioner. 4. A perusal of the records and the submissions made by the learned Counsel for Government of Tamil Nadu (Criminal Side) appearing for the respondent reveals that the petitioner is arrayed as second accused. It is alleged that the petitioner, along with the first accused, had collected several crores of money from the managements of the private schools. The first accused is the President of an unregistered Private Schools Association. Both the accused were close associates of a former Minister and had allegedly collected more than Rs.100 crores for getting approval, affiliation and upgradation of private schools. That apart, there are 1000 number of schools which were not granted any approval or permission so far. Only after registration of the FIR, all the schools were granted approval, affiliation and other permission etc., to run their private schools. 5. The learned Government Advocate (Criminal Side) for the respondent produced the statement recorded from various schools and it reveals that the first and second accused had collected huge money from the managements of private schools in order to get approval for their institutions. It was further submitted that the accused had formed an association in the name of the Tamil Nadu Private School Association, projected themselves as its https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis CRL OP No. 17954 of 2026 __________ Page4 of 5 President and that the petitioner, being a close associates of the first accused, collected huge money. So far, 47 private schools came forward to give statements stating that they paid huge money to A1 and A2 for getting approval of their respective schools. Therefore, the custodial interrogation of the petitioner is very much required in this case, since the accused had committed very serious and heinous offence as against the society. 6. Considering the gravity and nature of the offence, this Court is not inclined to grant anticipatory bail to the petitioner. Accordingly, this Criminal Original Petition stands dismissed. 09-07-2026 Index: Yes/No Speaking/Non-speaking order Neutral Citation: Yes/No LPP To 1.The Inspector of Police, Central Crime Branch -I, Chennai District. 2.The Public Prosecutor, High Court, Madras. https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis CRL OP No. 17954 of 2026 __________ Page5 of 5 G.K.ILANTHIRAIYAN J. LPP CRL OP No. 17954 of 2026 09-07-2026 https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis