Kerala CSR funds scam: High Court rejects bail plea of Ananda Kumar

Kerala High Court denies bail to Sri Sathya Sai Trust co-founder in fake CSR funds scam, citing direct involvement with accused.

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday (April 9, 2025) dismissed the bail petition of K.N. Ananda Kumar, co-founder of Sri Sathya Sai Orphanage Trust and the second accused in the fake CSR funds scam.

Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan, while dismissing his bail petition, observed “I am of the prima-facie considered opinion that the petitioner has direct involvement with the first accused, Ananthu Krishnan, and there are some materials to show that the Sathya Sai Trust also collected the amount for the half-price scheme directly”.

The court also directed the investigating officers in the cases to record the arrest of the petitioner in all cases in which he is implicated as an accused as expeditiously as possible and take steps to get the custody of the petitioner if necessary. After the custody period is over, the petitioner is free to file a fresh bail application before the jurisdictional court, the court said.

As for the submission of the petitioner that he was suffering from cardiac problems, the public prosecutor submitted that the petitioner is now in jail and medical facilities are available in the jail and necessary follow-up treatment is given to the petitioner. The court said that if that is the case, the petitioner is not entitled to bail on medical grounds.

The court observed that the beneficiaries in this case are people in the lower strata of society. “When there was an offer that they would get their dream two-wheeler, sewing machine and other home appliances at half the rate, they blindly relied on the petitioner and the other accused and consequently paid their hard-earned money. It is not a single instance. Thousands of people paid huge amounts and crores of rupees were collected by the accused. This court cannot shut the eyes to the tears of these poor people. Therefore, the petitioner is not entitled to any discretionary relief at this stage,” the court said.

The court also pointed out that the investigating officer in his report also stated that at present, the petitioner is involved in 24 other Crime Branch cases too. The custodial interrogation of the petitioner for evidence collection was inevitable for the above 24 cases.

It was also stated that out of the above 24 cases, the investigating officer of the 15 cases recorded the formal arrest of the petitioner in Thiruvananthapuram.