Former Director General of Police (DGP) Tomin Thachankary moved the Kerala High Court challenging his conviction and sentence in a disproportionate assets case, prompting the State Government to inform the court on Tuesday that it would file written objections against his plea.

The move comes less than a week after Thachankary was sentenced to four years of rigorous imprisonment and fined ₹30.84 lakh by Special Judge (Vigilance) KV Rajaneesh. It was alleged that Thachankary had acquired houses, flats and other properties during his service that were disproportionate to his known income.

Thachankary subsequently moved the present appeal before the Kerala High Court. He also filed an application seeking suspension of his sentence during the pendency of the appeal.

Thachankary's counsel opposed the State's request to file written objections.

"This is the first time the prosecution is asking to file written objections in a case with less than 10 years' sentence," he said.

Taking note of the State's objection, Justice A Badharudeen directed it to file its counter by September 24. However, the court noted that the State did not have an absolute right to file written objections when the sentence imposed was less than 10 years.

"This sentence is under 10 years. There is no absolute right to file objection. You may have a right, but it is not absolute," the court observed while addressing the State's counsel.

The State, however, maintained that Thachankary's plea had to be strongly opposed given the circumstances of the case.

"This case cannot be treated as an ordinary case. He was a Director General of Police. His position, the seriousness of the allegations and the fact that this is a crime against society must be considered," the State's counsel said.

The State argued that the facts of the case warranted the filing of written objections.

The court further remarked that the case should serve as a message to DGPs, Ministers and Chief Ministers, while noting that the question was whether there were exceptional circumstances warranting the State's objections.

The case against Thachankary stems from a complaint filed by Bobby Kuruvila, who described himself as an anti-corruption crusader. He alleged that Thachankary had acquired houses, flats and other properties during his service that were disproportionate to his known income.

A subsequent vigilance investigation found that Thachankary had acquired assets worth over ₹64 lakh between 2003 and 2007 that were disproportionate to his known income.

Thachankary was convicted and sentenced to four years' imprisonment by Kottayam Enquiry Commissioner and Special Judge (Vigilance) KV Rajaneesh last week.

The trial court found that the value of the disproportionate assets was around ₹30 lakh, amounting to more than 50% of his known income at the time.

Thachankary had sought a lighter sentence citing medical ailments. However, the trial court held that his position did not warrant leniency, particularly considering the magnitude of the abuse of power.

The trial court also imposed a fine of ₹30.84 lakh on Thachankary, the exact amount of disproportionate assets it found.
(With Bar and Bench inputs)