Chennai, August 10:
The Madras High Court has directed the Tamil Nadu government and the Chennai City Police Commissioner to respond to a petition challenging the detention of P.T. Arasakumar under the Goondas Act in connection with an alleged Rs 100-crore fraud case involving private schools.
Arasakumar, who was arrested by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) of the Greater Chennai Police, is accused of cheating private school managements across Tamil Nadu by promising to secure permanent recognition, DTCP and CMDA approvals, and other statutory clearances. Police alleged that he collected up to Rs 100 crore from multiple institutions under the pretext of facilitating such permissions.
Following his arrest, the Chennai Police Commissioner issued a detention order against Arasakumar under the Goondas Act on July 11.
Challenging this order, Arasakumar’s wife, Kokila, filed a petition before the High Court seeking to quash the detention. In her plea, she contended that the alleged offences pertain to incidents said to have occurred during 2024–25, but the case was registered only in 2026, followed by his arrest and preventive detention.
The petitioner further claimed that the charges levelled against Arasakumar were fabricated and politically motivated.
Hearing the plea, a Division Bench comprising Justices Anita Sumanth and Sundar Mohan issued notice to the State government and the police authorities, directing them to file their response within four weeks.
The case is expected to come up for further hearing after the response is filed.