Court dismisses bail pleas of accused in Palani land case; another case registered against suspended Sub-Registrar

Judicial Magistrate I, Dindigul, S. Packiaraj, on Wednesday dismissed the bail petitions filed by suspended Sub-Registrar Justin Manikandan Subramanian and Jeyaprakash, a document writer, both accused in the case pertaining to the fraudulent registration of Palani Math land.

Last week, the Judicial Magistrate had dismissed the bail petitions of the other accused who were arrested in connection with the case.

Meanwhile, Manikandan who was earlier admitted to Government Dindigul Medical College Hospital after he complained of chest pain and uneasiness was shifted to Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai for treatment. He has been remanded in judicial custody till August 21.

CB-CID police on July 29 arrested four accused in the case: D. Murugadass of Villupuram, who sold the land; K. Vellathurai of Tiruppur and D. Sethupathi of Palani, both buyers of the land; and S. Anwardeen of Palani, who reportedly facilitated the deal. The accused were apprehended under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for cheating, forgery, abetment, and criminal conspiracy.

Subsequently, the CB-CID police arrested Justin Manikandan Subramanian on August 6 after the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court dismissed his anticipatory bail petition. Jeyaprakash, whose anticipatory bail petition was also dismissed by the court, surrendered before the CB-CID police on August 7.

Anwardeen of Palani, who was accused of facilitating the fraudulent registration of Palani Math land died in judicial custody on the night of August 7. He complained of uneasiness upon arrival at Madurai Central Prison, after being in the custody of the CB-CID for three days while being questioned in connection with the case. He was taken to Government Rajaji Hospital where he was declared brought dead.

A Division Bench of Justices C.V. Karthikeyan and R. Sakthivel of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday posted the batch of petitions seeking CBI probe into the fraudulent registration of Palani Math land for hearing to August 24.

Based on the complaint lodged by Palani Sub-Registrar Eswari, another case of fraudulent registration has been registered against Justin Manikandan and two others. The land is said to be in Ayakudi near Palani. The Ayakudi police have registered a case against the trio: Justin Manikandan, the seller Mani and the buyer Kandasamy.