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Madras High Court
Chellaiah vs The Deputy Superintendent Of Police ... on 14 May, 2026
BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT
DATED: 14-05-2026
CORAM
THE HONOURABLE MR JUSTICE K.K. RAMAKRISHNAN
CRL OP(MD) NO. 9379 of 2026
1.Chellaiah
2.Senthilkumar
3.Meenakshisundaram
Petitioner(s) / A1 to A3
Vs
1.The State Rep. by its
The Deputy Superintendent of Police,
Thirupathur Division,
Sivagangai District.
2.The State rep. by its
The Inspector of Police,
Kandavarayanpatti Police Station,
Sivagangai District.
(Crime No.47 of 2026)
3.A.Ponnalagu
Respondent(s)
For Petitioner(s):
Mr.M.Jagadeesh Pandian,
Advocate for Mr.Ramanathan S
For Respondent(s):
Mr.S.Ravi,
Additional Public Prosecutor for R1 & R2
1/8
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Prayer : Criminal Original Petition is filed under Section 482 of
BNSS, 2023, to enlarge the petitioners on bail in the event of arrest or
surrender in connection with the alleged offences under Section 103 of
BNS which is pari materia to Section 302 of IPC r/w. Section 3(2)(v)
of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, in Crime No.47 of
2026 on the file of the respondent police.
ORDER
The petitioners are the accused Nos.1 to 3 in Crime No.47 of
2026 on the file of the respondent police and they have filed this
Criminal Original Petition seeking anticipatory bail.
2.It is alleged that the petitioners and other unknown persons
conspired and murdered the son of the de facto complainant, namely
Praveen Kumar, on 02.05.2026 at around 03:00 p.m. Accordingly, an
FIR was registered for the aforesaid offences under Section 103 of the
BNS and Section 3(2)(v) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled
Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, as amended in 2008.
3.The learned counsel for the petitioners would submit that the
petitioners have been falsely implicated and that the case of accidental
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death has been camouflaged as a murder case at the instigation of the
de facto complainant and certain political parties. Therefore, the
petitioners have filed this Criminal Original Petition seeking
anticipatory bail.
4.On 07.05.2026, this Court had passed the following order :
“ Issue notice to the third respondent /
defacto complainant, returnable by
04.06.2026. Private notice is also permitted.
2. The defacto complainant is directed to
receive the body, since the present petition will
be considered only after the post-mortem is
conducted.
3. List the matter on 04.06.2026. Till
then, the respondent police shall not harass the
petitioners.”
5.The learned Additional Public Prosecutor made a special
mention before the Vacation Court on 13.05.2026, stating that, in view
of the interim order passed by this Court during the first vacation on
07.05.2026 directing the police not to harass the petitioners, the
Investigating Officer was unable to proceed with the investigation. He
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further submitted that, in cases involving offences under Section 3(2)
(v) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of
Atrocities) Act, 1989, and Section 103 of the BNS, an anticipatory bail
petition is ordinarily not maintainable. He also submitted that the
Hon’ble Supreme Court, on various occasions, has issued directions
restraining Courts from passing orders such as “not to harass the
petitioners,” as such orders hamper the investigation.He further
produced the post-mortem certificate, the statements recorded under
Section 183 of the BNSS, 2023, and other materials, and contended
that there exists a clear case of murder and not an accident, as argued
by the learned counsel for the petitioners.
6.Upon production of the post-mortem certificate, he also
submitted that the allegations made in the First Information Report that
murder was committed prima facie substantiated with the preliminary
opinion given by the post-mortem Doctor.
7. The learned counsel for the petitioners submitted that there is
no bar to entertain the present anticipatory bail application under the
Act.
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8. The Honourable Judge of this Court, after considering the
entire facts and circumstances of the case at that stage, granted an
order of interim protection to the petitioners on 07.05.2026, and there
is no occasion to vacate the same. The case was specifically adjourned
to 04.06.2026.
9.The learned Additional Public Prosecutor, at the cost of
repetition, submitted that, in view of the interim order, the
Investigating Officer is unable to proceed with the investigation.
10.This Court considered the rival submissions and perused the
records produced by the learned Additional Public Prosecutor as well
as the learned counsel for the petitioners.
11.The case of the petitioners is that the occurrence was a pure
accident, which, according to them, is evident from the photographs
annexed in the typed set of papers. On the other hand, the learned
Additional Public Prosecutor produced the very same photographs and
contended that it is not a case of accident, but one of murder, as
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alleged in the complaint.
12.This Court is not inclined to go into the rival contentions
based on the materials produced at this stage. However, considering
the nature of the offences under Section 103 of the BNS read with
Section 3(2)(v) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes
(Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, this Court is inclined to vacate
the following portion of the order dated 07.05.2026:
3. List the matter on 04.06.2026. Till then, the
respondent police shall not harass the
petitioners.”
13.Accordingly, the following portion of the interim order
granted by this Court on 07.05.2026 is hereby vacated:
3. List the matter on 04.06.2026. Till then, the
respondent police shall not harass the petitioners.”
14. For filing counter on the side of the 1st and 2nd respondents,
list the matter on 02.06.2026. In the meantime, the petitioners are
directed to serve notice on the 3rd respondent.
14-05-2026
mkn/dss
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To
The Deputy Superintendent of Police,
Thirupathur Division,
Sivagangai District.
2.The Inspector of Police,
Kandavarayanpatti Police Station,
Sivagangai District.
3.The Additional Public Prosecutor,
Madurai Bench of Madras High Court, Madurai.
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K.K. RAMAKRISHNAN, J.
mkn/dss
CRL OP(MD) NO. 9379 of 2026
14.05.2026
https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis
