When bogus bail orders in the name of the highest court rocked Tamil Nadu

Forgery scandal in Tamil Nadu saw hardened criminals released with fake bail orders, exposing a well-coordinated network of deception.

In the 1990s, a forgery scandal shocked Tamil Nadu. Hardened criminals, convicted of grave offences like murder, walked out of prison, presenting fraudulent bail orders claimed to have been issued by the Supreme Court of India.

By the time law enforcement agencies uncovered the deception, 156 prisoners had been released from the Palayamkottai Central Prison and a dozen prisoners, all life convicts, from the Cuddalore Central Prison.

The investigation revealed a well-coordinated network of prisoners and private individuals that was behind the forgery of documents. The masterminds produced the fake orders in the prison itself by obtaining stationery, counterfeit seals, and other necessary materials from external sources.

While most of the escapees were recaptured, one Sri Lankan national remains at large. The Crime Branch-CID (CB-CID) of the Tamil Nadu Police alerted Interpol, which has issued a Red Corner Notice to apprehend him.

The elaborate falsification started unravelling when suspicions arose over the sudden release of M. Masilamani and R. Vasu, convicted for rioting and murder, from the Cuddalore prison. Preliminary inquiries indicated that they had secured bail from the Supreme Court after their appeal against the life sentences imposed by the trial court was rejected by the Madras High Court.

However, when Additional Superintendent Muniandi, of the Cuddalore Central Prison, noticed irregularities in the bail orders, the case was referred to the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s Court, Cuddalore. It was soon confirmed that no such bail orders had been issued by the Supreme Court.

Further investigation revealed that Masilamani and Vasu were not the only convicts who had escaped with the help of forged documents; several other life convicts had done so. Among them were Paramasivam and Ramu, alias Ramamurthy, who were also sentenced to life imprisonment for rioting and murder, and K. Devan, alias Devaraj, and V. Lingan, alias Lingaraj, convicted of murder in a case filed by the Ambattur police in Chennai. Despite their appeals having been dismissed by the Madras High Court, these convicts produced fake bail orders supposedly from the Supreme Court.