Tamil Nadu ADGP suspension case: Supreme Court asks T.N. Govt to apprise it about transferring probe to CID or Special Branch

Tamil Nadu ADGP Jayaram leaves the Thiruvalangadu Police Station after an inquiry related to his involvement in the abduction of a 17-year-old boy, on June 17, 2025 | Photo Credit: R. Ragu

The Supreme Court on Thursday (June 19, 2025) asked the Tamil Nadu Government to apprise it on whether the probe against ADGP H.M. Jayaram in an alleged kidnapping case can be transferred to either the Special Branch or the CID after the State said that it wanted his suspension to continue till the investigation is over.

A Bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Manmohan was told by senior advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for the Tamil Nadu Government, that Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Jayaram’s suspension was not pursuant to June 16 order of the High Court in the kidnapping case and there are other allegations as well against him.

Mr. Dave said it is within the rules that Mr. Jayaram can be suspended pending investigation in a criminal case against him.

The Bench told Mr. Dave that it is also looking forward to transferring the kidnapping case pending before the High Court Judge to another Judge of the High Court.

Mr. Dave said that although he does not want to comment on the High Court Judge dealing with the kidnapping case allegedly involving Mr. Jayaram, he has been bringing all sorts of cases into this matter.

The Bench asked Mr. Dave to seek instruction on transferring the investigation to either a Special Bench or the CID during the day and inform the Court.

The developments come a day after the Supreme Court on June 18 termed as “shocking” the police custody and suspension of the senior police officer in connection with the abduction case. A Vacation Bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Manmohan had expressed concerns about the treatment of the ADGP.

“He is a senior police officer. Where is the question of suspending him if he has joined the investigation? This is demoralising,” the bench had observed while addressing the Tamil Nadu side.

The counsel for ADGP Jayaram had submitted that his client was released from custody at around 5 p.m. on June 17, but was subsequently placed under suspension by the Tamil Nadu government. The state counsel had maintained that the petitioner had not been arrested and that he had already joined the investigation.

Kidnap case

The case pertains to the kidnap of of an 18-year-old boy in Thiruvalangadu taluk of Tiruvallur district, Tamil Nadu. According to the complaint lodged by the mother Lakshmi (44) of Kalambakkam, a group of persons from Theni had abducted her younger son on May 6.

Her elder son Dhanush who works in a private company in Chennai, fell in love with Vijaya Sri, 21, of Theni district. Despite resistance from her family, she married him. On information, her family rushed to the house of Dhanush to separate the couple. As they did not find Dhanush there, they picked up his younger brother and later dropped him off.

The Thiruvalangadu police arrested five persons from Theni: the girl’s father Vanaraja (55), Manikandan (46), Ganeshan (47), Sarathkumar and retired police officer Maheshwari. During interrogation, they stated that they had sought the assistance of Kilvaithinakuppam (Reserved) MLA and Puratchi Bharatham leader ‘Poovai’ M. Jagan Moorthy, who ordered the abduction of the boy. The allegation against the ADGP is that he had lent his official car to the abductors for the crime.

(With inputs from PTI)

Published - June 19, 2025 12:07 pm IST