Ex-minister Poyyamozhi’s detention extended over private school bribery case

Former Tamil Nadu Education Minister and DMK leader Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi. | Photo credit: Ragu R

A special court in Chennai on Friday (November 06, 2026) extended the remand of former education minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi in an alleged bribery case related to approvals for private schools till November 18.

The Central Crime Branch (CCB) police arrested Mr Poyyamozhi on October 26, after which a special court for cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act sent him to judicial custody till November 6. He subsequently approached the court with a request for release on bail.

On Friday, Mr Poyyamozhi was produced before Special Judge LS Sathyamurthy through video conferencing facility. The judge ordered an extension of custody until November 18.

Senior counsel Abudukumar Rajarathinam had earlier argued that his client had fully cooperated with the CCB police during the three days of custodial interrogation.

He said the CCB registered the case despite the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) being the designated agency to investigate corruption cases, creating confusion over jurisdiction.

Mr. Rajarathinam disputed the changing estimates of the bribes allegedly collected by Mr. Poyyamozhi, saying that the amount was initially set at ₹100 million and subsequently increased.

Citing Supreme Court judgments, he also argued that not registering cases against those who allegedly paid bribes was against the law.

He sought directions for the prosecution to present their statements and questioned the police about the number of accused who had allegedly absconded.

While the police had earlier claimed that the accused Muthukumar was absconding, they were now talking about another accused, Saravanan, as absconding, he said.

The police are against bail

Prosecutor John Sathyan opposed the bail application. According to him, Mr. Saravanan was supposed to be transporting the money to Mr. Poyyamozhi’s residence. He claimed that the police had video evidence in this regard and said that Mr. Saravanan was absconding.

Citing the surrender of Mr. Muthukumar and the alleged disappearance of Mr. Saravanan, the prosecutor opposed bail.

Under the new provisions of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), the police can seek custodial interrogation for up to 60 days, he added.

As new evidence came to light, further questioning of Mr Poyyamozhi in custody was necessary as granting bail at this stage could prejudice the investigation.

After hearing arguments from both sides, Special Judge Sathyamurthy reserved orders on the bail application for November 10.

Published – November 6, 2026 10:21 PM IST