Panneerselvam vs State Of Tamil Nadu

C.Kumarappan, J

The petitioner, who was arrested and remanded to judicial custody on 12.02.2026 for the alleged offences under Sections 205, 210, 419, 466, 467, 468, 471 and 420 of IPC (Sections 208, 211, 318(2), 318(4), 336(2), 338, 339 and 340 of BNS, 2023), in Crime No.1 of 2022, on the file of the respondent police, seeks bail.

The case of the prosecution is that the petitioner, who is the Advocate Clerk of A1/Advocate, had committed acts of impersonation, forgery, fabrication of records and misappropriation of compensation amounts awarded in M.C.O.P.No.416 of 2005, M.C.O.P.No.544 of 2012 and M.C.O.P.No.297 of 2014. The allegation against this petitioner is that he along with A1 had misappropriated the Court funds to the tune of Rs.8,75,000/-. Hence, the present case.

The learned counsel for the petitioner would submit that according to the prosecution, the total misappropriated amount is Rs.8,75,000/- and that there are two accused and the present petitioner is A2 and he is an Advocate Clerk and the Advocate/A1 was already enlarged on bail by this Court in Crl.O.P.No.5162 of 2026 on 09.03.2026. He would further submit that the alleged total misappropriated amount of Rs.8,75,000/- was already deposited by A1 before the concerned Court.

This factum was not seriously disputed by the learned Government Advocate.

I have given anxious consideration to the submissions made by the learned counsel on either side.

Considering the long incarceration of the petitioner since 12.02.2026 and upon the fact that the Advocate/A1 was already enlarged on bail by this Court, this Court is inclined to consider the bail application of the petitioner, positively, with certain conditions:

Accordingly, the petitioner is ordered to be released on bail on his executing a bond for a sum of Rs.20,000/- (Rupees Twenty Thousand only), with two sureties each for a like sum to the satisfaction of the learned Judicial Magistrate – I, Kanchipuram, and subject to the following conditions:

[a] the sureties shall affix their photographs and Left Thumb Impression in the Application for Surety ship [Judicial Form No.46 annexed to 'The Criminal Rules of Practice, 2019']. The learned Magistrate shall obtain a copy of any one of the identity proofs to ensure their identity;

[d] the petitioner shall report before the respondent police twice a day at 10.30 a.m. and 05.30 p.m. for a period four weeks and thereafter appear before the respondent police daily at 10.30 a.m. for a further period of two weeks and thereafter as and when required for interrogation;

[c] the petitioner shall not abscond either during investigation or trial;

[d] the petitioner shall not tamper with the evidence or witness either during investigation or trial;

[e] on breach of any of the aforementioned conditions, the learned Magistrate/Trial Court is entitled to take appropriate action against the petitioners in accordance with law as if the conditions had been imposed and the petitioners released on bail by the learned Magistrate/Trial Court itself, as laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in P.K.Shaji vs. State of Kerala [(2005)13 SCC 283];

[f] if the petitioners thereafter abscond, a fresh FIR may be registered under Section 269 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.