The Indian Supreme Court has granted anticipatory bail to Tamil Nadu MLA "Poovai" Jegan Murthy, who represents KV Kuppam, in a case related to the alleged kidnapping of a minor boy.
The matter was heard by a bench of Justices Manoj Mishra and NK Singh, which was examining an appeal against the Madras High Court order which had earlier dismissed Murthy's anticipatory bail plea.
“The matter requires consideration. Issue notice.”
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“In the meantime, if the petitioner is arrested in connection with FIR No. 101/2025 registered at Police Station - Thiruvalangadu (renumbered as CR No. 1/2025), he shall be released on a personal bond of Rs 25,000/- provided that he shall cooperate in the investigation and shall not threaten witnesses or tamper with evidence,” the Supreme Court said in its order.
Senior advocates Siddharth Luthra and S. Prabhakaran represented Murthy. They submitted that there was no evidence to show that the MLA had control over the abducted person. The court took note of the argument that Murthy was being targeted with false allegations.
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"There is no dispute that the abducted person was recovered and he was not in the possession or control of the applicant. The applicant has been implicated for malicious reasons, alleging that he had a hand in the abduction," the lawyers argued.
"Even assuming that the applicant had interacted with one of the parties to the dispute, the same can be considered for the purpose of resolving the issue. It is then argued that in any event, custodial interrogation is not required," the court noted from the submissions.
The case began with a complaint by a woman named Lakshmi, who alleged that her elder son had married a girl without the approval of the girl's family. Subsequently, a group of persons, including miscreants allegedly belonging to the girl's side, came looking for the couple. As the couple went into hiding, Lakshmi claimed that her younger son, an 18-year-old, was abducted and later found injured near a hotel.
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Initially, the FIR filed by the Tiruvallur police included sections 189 (2), 329 (4) and 140 (3) of the Indian Penal Code (BNS). Later, following the alleged confession of the co-accused, the charges were amended to sections 189 (2), 332 (b), 140 (1) and 61 (2) of the BNS.
Earlier, the Madras High Court had refused to grant bail to Murthy, citing "prima facie" material to proceed against him.
The bail plea before the Supreme Court was filed through advocate-on-record Rama Shankar.
Recently, the Supreme Court had also set aside the Madras High Court's direction to arrest ADGP HM Jayaram in the same abduction case.
Case Details : M. Jegan Moorthy Vs The Inspector Police| SLP(Crl) No. 009477 - / 2025
