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Kochi : The high court has adjourned to Nov 12 the petition filed by former DGP Tomin J Thachankary seeking relaxation of his bail conditions to travel abroad and resume his job. The court will consider in detail the report submitted by the jail superintendent regarding his detention and hospitalisation.
The vigilance special court, Kottayam, had sentenced Thachankary to four years’ imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 30.84 lakh on Sept 17 in a disproportionate assets case.
Such practices could not be allowed, the court said, warning that any attempt to mislead the court and the law would be viewed seriously. The report also detailed his cardiac ailments. After perusing the report, the court orally questioned how a person suffering from such serious ailments could travel abroad for work. It observed that he had not spent a single day in a jail cell but had remained in the hospital throughout his period of detention. The court also noted that he had fallen ill upon being sent to jail but claimed to be healthy after his release and sought permission to travel abroad to resume work. The bench subsequently adjourned the petition to next Thursday to examine whether the petitioner’s hospitalisation was genuine or a ploy to avoid staying in the jail cell. Thachankary has now approached the HC seeking relaxation of a bail condition prohibiting him from travelling abroad without prior permission. He also stated that he had been working as an operations manager with a jewellery group in Sharjah for the past three years and was a partner in a business concern providing information technology-related services abroad.
The HC had earlier suspended his sentence and granted him bail pending disposal of his appeal challenging the conviction and sentence. On Friday, a report was placed before the court stating that Thachankary had been admitted to the jail hospital on the day he was brought to the jail and had received treatment for various ailments until his release.