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The Madras High Court on Monday, March 21, granted interim bail to former Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) national president, Dr Subbiah Shanmugam in the case of harassing his woman neighbour.

Justice Jayachandran granted interim bail to Dr Subbiah Shanmugam, who was arrested on Saturday, March 19, 2022.

Paul Kanakaraj, who appeared for Dr Subbiah, stated that the bail was moved as an urgent petition as there is gross violation of fundamental rights and abuse of power.

The counsel for Dr Subbiah also claimed that he was arrested on a public holiday with the intention of detaining him for more than 48 hours and thereby invoking the Conduct Rules to place him under suspension.

THE INCIDENT

Former Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) national president Dr Subbiah Shanmugam was arrested by the Chennai police for allegedly harassing an elderly woman neighbour by urinating near the entrance of her home and throwing rubbish outside her house.

The alleged incident took place in July 2020, following a disagreement between Subbiah and the woman over a parking lot.

The victim, who is a widow living alone, in her complaint stated that following the argument, she would often find garbage dumped outside her place. Her family installed CCTV to capture the culprit.

JUDGE’S ORDERS

In his order, Justice Jayachandran stated that there were errors in the arrest which led to violation of fundamental rights. He alleged that the error was committed with an ulterior motive to take departmental action and place Dr Subbiah under suspension.

“It is further added that since the arrest itself is apparently and erroneously made, the arrest will not give any ground for taking departmental action against the petitioner,” stated Justice Jayachandran while granting interim bail with an execution bond of Rs 25,000.

The court also granted the Additional Public Prosecutor time till March 24 to file a counter.

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India today