Chennai, Oct 30:
Senior advocate P Wilson on Thursday questioned the manner in which former School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi was arrested from his lawyer’s office, asking before the Madras High Court, “Are we living in a police state?”
Wilson, appearing for Mahesh before Justice V Lakshminarayanan, strongly objected to the police action and argued that the former minister was discussing the next course of legal action with his lawyers when the police entered the office and arrested him.
The senior counsel questioned the urgency behind the arrest and said there was no reason for the police to act in such a manner when Mahesh was consulting his legal team after the rejection of his anticipatory bail petition.
He also sought the framing of standard operating procedures (SOPs) to be followed by the police while making arrests in similar circumstances.
Wilson pointed out an alleged discrepancy in the records relating to the place of arrest. While the grounds of arrest mentioned the lawyer’s office as the location, the remand order recorded that the arrest had taken place on a nearby street. The court asked him to challenge the remand order if he wished to raise that issue.
Opposing the submissions, State Public Prosecutor R John Sathyan and Assistant Public Prosecutor Arun Anbumani said the police had waited outside Wilson’s office for nearly one-and-a-half hours. They submitted that the police entered the premises only after the advocate invited them inside and that the officers had acted in accordance with their duty.
The hearing concerned Mahesh’s petition seeking to quash the FIR registered against him in connection with an alleged Rs 100-crore scam involving the issuance of recognition and statutory approvals to private schools during the previous DMK regime.
The case originated from allegations that office-bearers of a private schools association had collected money from educational institutions by promising to secure no-objection certificates, licences, recognition and renewals. The investigation was subsequently expanded to include alleged offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Mahesh was arrested on October 26 after the Madras High Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea. He has denied the allegations and challenged the legality of the proceedings.
During Thursday’s hearing, the prosecution informed the court that former MLA BT Arasukumar, another accused in the case, had surrendered before the Special Court after the Supreme Court declined to grant him relief. The prosecution also said it would seek his custody for interrogation.
After hearing the submissions, Justice Lakshminarayanan adjourned the matter to November 10.
The proceedings have brought the circumstances surrounding Mahesh’s arrest into focus, even as the investigation into the alleged private-school approvals scam continues.