Former minister Poyyamozhi’s remand over private school bribery case extended

A special court in Chennai on Friday (November 6, 2026) extended the remand of former School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi in an alleged bribery case relating to the grant of approvals for private schools till November 18.

The Central Crime Branch (CCB) police had arrested Mr. Poyyamozhi on October 26, following which the special court for cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act remanded him in judicial custody until November 6. He subsequently moved the court seeking bail.

On Friday, Mr. Poyyamozhi was produced before Special Judge L.S. Sathyamurthy through a video conferencing facility. The Judge ordered the extension of remand till November 18. Earlier, senior counsel Abudukumar Rajarathinam argued that his client had fully cooperated with the CCB police over three days of custodial interrogation.

He said the CCB had 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 questioned the changing estimates of the bribes allegedly collected by Mr.

Poyyamozhi, stating that the amount had initially been pegged at ₹100 crore and subsequently increased. Citing Supreme Court judgments, he also contended that failure to register cases against those who allegedly paid the bribes was contrary to law.

He sought directions for the prosecution to produce their statements and questioned the police over the number of accused allegedly absconding. While the police had earlier claimed that an accused, Muthukumar, was absconding, they were now referring to another accused, Saravanan, as being on the run, he said.

State Public Prosecutor John Sathyan opposed the bail plea. According to him, Mr. Saravanan had allegedly transported money to Mr. Poyyamozhi’ s residence. The police had video evidence in this regard, he claimed, and said Mr.

Saravanan was absconding. Citing Mr. Muthukumar’s surrender and Mr. Saravanan’s alleged disappearance, the prosecutor opposed bail. Under the new provisions of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), the police could seek custodial interrogation for up to 60 days, he submitted.

Since fresh evidence had emerged, further custodial interrogation of Mr. Poyyamozhi was necessary, as granting bail at this stage could hamper the investigation. After hearing arguments from both sides, Special Judge Sathyamurthy reserved orders on the bail petition for November 10.