CHENNAI: Finding prima facie materials to establish his role in the abduction of a boy from Tiruvallur, the Madras High Court on Friday refused to grant anticipatory bail to KV Kuppam MLA and leader of Puratchi Bharatham party ‘Poovai’ M Jagan Moorthy.
Justice G Jayachandran said the court has arrived at an irresistible conclusion that for a fair investigation and fearless trial, the petitioner needs to be secured and subjected to custodial interrogation. The teenager was allegedly abducted as his brother had married a girl outside his caste from an affluent family in Theni.
“The call details collected show that the petitioner was in touch with ADGP HM Jayaram and other persons. These materials prima facie are sufficient to hold that the petitioner is a party to the alleged conspiracy,” the judge said in the order.
The matter pertains to the abduction of the teenager from his house in Tiruvalankadu police limits on June 7, 2025, by five unidentified persons in the marriage involving his brother. The kidnapped boy was later let go near the Perumbakkam bus stand. Preliminary probe brought to the fore the alleged involvement of Moorthy and HM Jayaram, an ADGP-rank IPS officer.
On Friday, Additional Advocate General (AAG) J Ravindran assisted by Additional Public Prosecutor R Muniapparaj, representing the CB-CID, submitted that the investigating agency has collected electronic evidence, call records, photographs, CCTV footage and recovered Rs 7.86 lakh from the girl’s father Vanaraja that point to the MLA’s role in the case.
When the judge wanted to know whether granting anticipatory bail would hamper the probe and whether the investigators can proceed without taking the MLA into custody, Ravindran replied that custodial interrogation is necessary. He said the MLA did not volunteer to appear before the police for enquiry and did so only after being asked by the court. “He did not cooperate with investigators. He gave only evasive replies,” the AAG said.
Senior counsel S Prabakaran, appearing for Moorthy said the MLA was “implicated” in the case due to political animosity and noted that there weren’t any cases registered against him, except one for holding an agitation, during all these years of public life. Stating that Moorthy was framed solely based on the confession statements of two of the accused, the counsel noted that such statements are not admissible in view of the pronouncements of the Supreme Court.
He said that the FIR was altered by the police to slap severe sections on the bail applicant with a malicious intention. The parents of the girl, along with a former police constable named Maheswari, had met the MLA and sought his help to find the whereabouts of the couple (who had gone underground fearing repercussions from the girl’s family) as the family was planning to host a reception for the couple, Prabhakaran submitted. He said the MLA only advised them to take legal recourse. Moorthy is always ready to cooperate with investigating agency, the counsel said.