The Chief Judicial Magistrate in Karur will take up the matter and decide on the bail applications of the accused on 31 July or in three days.
Published Jul 29, 2023 | 3:58 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 29, 2023 | 3:58 PM
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Observing that the magistrate court had passed a “cryptic order”, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court cancelled the bail granted by Judicial Magistrate-I, Karur, to the DMK functionaries who had attacked Income-Tax (I-T) officials when they were searching premises linked to Minister V Senthil Balaji on 26 May.
Passing orders on the petition filed by Deputy Director of Income Tax (Investigation) of Chennai SN Yogapriyanga, Assistant Director K Krishnakanth, and inspectors Galla Srinivasarao and G Gayathry, Justice G Ilangovan observed that the bail order should indicate why the bail is being granted. However, the magistrate court had not stated any reason for granting bail to the accused.
“The trial court took into account the duration of custody of three days or more. But the serious allegations of the offence, including the snatching of official documents and attacking of officers, and the recovery of articles or documents had not been discussed,” the court observed.
Further, the judge directed that the bail applications must be decided by a senior judge.
He ordered the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Karur, to take up the matter and decide on the bail applications of the accused on 31 July or in three days, after giving an opportunity to all the parties concerned.
Meanwhile, the court also directed the accused persons to surrender before the trial court.
On 26 May, DMK functionaries and cadres gathered on the premises related to Minister Senthil Balaji’s bother Ashok Kumar, Mayor Kavitha Ganesan, and others, where I-T raids were being conducted. They began to verbally abuse the officials.
Further, the DMK men snatched documents related to the I-T searches. Additionally, the vehicles of the I-T officials were damaged.
Following the attacks, the I-T officials lodged a complaint with the Karur police. The next day, the raids continued with the protection of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). 19 accused had been arrested and remanded in judicial custody.
Following this, all the accused applied for bail before Karur Judicial Magistrate-I. Objecting to this, the Income Tax Department sought permission to file an intervening application opposing their bail. However, the Magistrate Court refused it and granted bail to all 19 accused in the case.
Contending that the bail was granted in a mechanical manner and they were not given an opportunity to object it, the IT department approached the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court to cancel the bail.
