HC orders interim stay on FIR registered against former IGP Pon Manickavel

Madurai Bench of Madras High Court grants interim stay on CBI FIR against A.G. Pon Manickavel, citing false allegations.

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday ordered an interim stay on the FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation against former Inspector General of Police, Head of Idol Wing CID, A.G. Pon Manickavel.

Justice B. Pugalendhi ordered an interim stay and posted the petition filed by Mr. Manickavel who has sought to quash the FIR registered against him by the CBI, on March 17.

Earlier, the Madras High Court ordered a CBI probe while hearing the petition filed by former Deputy Superintendent of Police I. Kader Batcha who alleged that Mr. Manickavel had falsely implicated him in an idol theft case.

The court had directed CBI to probe into the allegations against Mr. Manickavel. Pursuant to the court order, the CBI filed a fresh First Information Report citing Mr. Manickavel as an accused based on the representations made by Mr. Batcha.

In his petition, Mr. Manickavel said the very reading of the FIR does not disclose any of the offences registered against him. It was a clear case of abuse of the process of law. Mr. Batcha only to escape from the culpability of the cases registered against him, made frivolous representations against the petitioner and filed a direction petition with misleading facts to wreak vengeance.

According to him, the CBI mechanically registered the FIR without even constituting any offence against the petitioner. It shows the entire complaint is false and with a mala fide intention foisted against the petitioner. Therefore, the case was liable to be quashed, he said.