On 26th September 2025, the Madras High Court at Madurai Bench quashed the FIR and charge sheet filed by the CBI against former Inspector General of Police A.G. Pon Manickavel. He earlier headed the Idol Wing-CID in Tamil Nadu Police.
The Madurai bench of Justice R.N. Manjula ruled that withholding the preliminary enquiry report from him was in violation of the principles of natural justice and Pon Manickavel’s right to a fair trial under Article 21 of the Constitution.
The court noted that the criminal proceedings against the accused stemmed from a flawed process. In its order, the court emphasised that when an FIR is registered on the basis of a judicially ordered preliminary enquiry, the accused person is entitled to know the contents of that enquiry before being proceeded against.
Back in 2018, Manickavel submitted in Madras High Court that authorities in the state government were trying to ‘fix him’. He said, “They were conducting some probe behind my back and trying to fix me in some sort of allegation.” Taking his statement into consideration, the court directed the state government not to take any adverse actions against him or his team without its permission.
In 2019, a former Police official, Kader Batcha, who was accused of idol theft, approached the Madras High Court seeking action against Ponmanickavel. The court ordered CBI to carry out investigation. Concluded in 2024, the CBI investigation alleged that Ponmanickavel had framed Kader Batcha in criminal cases, fabricated documents, and engaged in wrongful arrest and intimidation. Subsequently, the CBI registered an FIR against Ponmanickavel in August last year.
However, Pon Manickavel challenged both the FIRs and the denial of access to the preliminary report. The accused officer contended that the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Madurai, wrongly dismissed his request for a copy of the report, which formed the very foundation of the FIR.
Ponmanickavel further argued that the proceedings contravened previous court orders, which had directed that no action shall be taken against him or his team without the concurrence of the High Court.
Agreeing with Pon Manickavel’s contention, the court noted that the Tamil Nadu government had given him a clean record in 2018, when he was appointed Special Officer. The state government had also praised Pon Manickavel’s efforts in recovering stolen idols worth crores of rupees.
Highlighting the irony of the matter, the court said, “A person who was considered as a hero has been reversed to a villain now. And that too on a complaint given by the second respondent who has already been shown as an accused in one of the cases registered against him.”
Regarding denial of the preliminary report, the court said that it was not justified given the report was not classified as confidential or privileged. Justice Manjula stated that since Pon Manickavel was denied a copy of the preliminary report, he was essentially deprived of the opportunity to defend himself or approach court for quashing of the FIR.
“If such baseless reports are allowed to be given undue importance than what it would deserve, then in every case involving police officials, an opposite syndicate will start act against the investigating team and try to sabotage the material gathered and filed in the court by the investigating team. Such an unhealthy trend will certainly affect the interest of justice,” court ruled.
Taking into account the facts of the case, the court quashed the FIR and CBI’s charge sheet. The court also directed that Ponmanickavel be provided with a copy of the preliminary report.
OpIndia previously published a comprehensive report on the accomplishments of Pon Manickavel. Known for his no-nonsense attitude and emphasis on discipline, the recovery of two 1000-year old idols of Rajaraja Chola and his wife, Lokamadevi, remain the crowning jewel of Pon Manickavel’s illustrious career.
