CRL.OP.No.19472 of 2026 __________ IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS DATED: 22-07-2026 CORAM THE HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE D.BHARATHA CHAKRAVARTHY CRL.OP.No.19472 of 2026 and CRL.MP.Nos.12949 & 12950 of 2026 K.Mugunthan ..Petitioners Vs 1. State represented by The Inspector of Police, M-3, Puzhal Police Station, Puzhal, Chennai. (Crime No. 40/2014) 2. A.Dharmaraj ..Respondents Prayer: Criminal Original Petition filed under Section 528 of BNSS, praying to call for the records relating to the case in S.C.No.291 of 2025 pending on the file of the IV Additional District Court, Thiruvallur at Ponneri and quash the same with regard to the petitioner. For Petitioner: Mr.E.Vijay Anand for Mr.K.G.Senthil Kumar For Respondent(s): Mr.M.Mohamed Riyaz, (for R1) Government Advocate (Crl. Side) https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis CRL.OP.No.19472 of 2026 __________ ORDER The prayer in this criminal original petition is to quash the charge sheet in S.C.No.291 of 2025, pending on the file of the IV Additional District Court, Thiruvallur at Ponneri. 2. The prayer sought in this petition is innocuous in nature, and as such, this petition is being disposed of at the admission stage itself, without ordering notice to the second respondent/de facto complainant. 3. A perusal of the First Information Report, the charge sheet and the materials collected during the course of the investigation reveals that all the accused persons were students of the Presidency College at the time of the alleged incident. Owing to a dispute with students of another college regarding a particular bus route, the accused persons allegedly damaged the windshield of a bus, attacked other individuals and caused injuries. Consequently, a complaint was lodged by the bus driver against the accused persons for the alleged offences under Sections 341, 353, 506(ii) r/w. Section 34 of IPC and Section 3 of TNPPDL Act. https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis CRL.OP.No.19472 of 2026 __________ 4. Heard the submissions made by the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Government Advocate (Criminal Side) appearing for the first respondent. 5. The primary consideration before this Court is that the alleged occurrence took place in the year 2014, and we are currently in the year 2026. The petitioner has been facing these proceedings for the past 12 years with the charge sheet being filed belatedly only in the year 2025. While this Court does not interfere in every case on the sole ground of delay, the facts of the present case reveal a simple issue of student misbehaviour resulting in criminal offences, for which a complaint was lodged by a bus driver, followed by an unexplained and inordinate delay in filing the charge sheet. When a delay is of such a magnitude that it directly infringes upon the accused’s right to a speedy trial, continuing the proceedings becomes inherently oppressive to the petitioner. 6. Consequently, this Court is of the view that the criminal original petition deserves to be allowed. This Court takes into account the https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis CRL.OP.No.19472 of 2026 __________ background of the petitioner, who was a young college student at the time of the incident. Furthermore, it is submitted that there are no other adverse antecedents against the petitioner. Cumulatively considering these additional factors along with the inordinate delay, this Court deems it a fit case to invoke its inherent powers under section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.P.C.). 7. Accordingly, this criminal original petition stands allowed and the charge sheet in S.C.No.291 of 2025, pending on the file of the IV Additional District Court, Thiruvallur at Ponneri, is hereby quashed insofar as the petitioner is concerned. Connected miscellaneous petitions are closed. 22-07-2026 Neutral Citation: No Sni https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis CRL.OP.No.19472 of 2026 __________ To 1.The IV Additional District Judge, Thiruvallur, Ponneri. 2.The Inspector of Police, M-3, Puzhal Police Station, Puzhal, Chennai. 3.The Public Prosecutor, High Court of Madras. https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis CRL.OP.No.19472 of 2026 __________ D.BHARATHA CHAKRAVARTHY, J. Sni CRL.OP.No.19472 of 2026 22-07-2026 https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis