As Madras HC quashes FIR against former IG Pon Manickavel, read how the officer battled to save ancient idols of Hindu temples in Tamil Nadu

On 26th September, the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court dismissed a case brought by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against former Inspector General Pon Manickavel who oversaw the Criminal Investigation Department’s (CID) idol theft division in Tamil Nadu.

He was charged with falsely implicating former Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Kader Batcha in a case relating to stealing of idols. The order was issued by Justice RN Manjula after Manickavel submitted a plea.

The bench issued a ruling in response to two related petitions presented by him. It pronounced that the criminal charges against him were the result of an improper procedure. The accused has the right to know the results of a preliminary inquiry before being charged, the court emphasised, when a First Information Report (FIR) is filed based on the same.

“Both the FIR and the charge sheet on the face of it do not disclose any materials to sustain the charges made against the petitioner. Even if the allegations in the charge sheet are uncontroverted, the guilt of the accused cannot be proved. The FIR itself is non-est and redundant, as it has been registered not only in excess of the authority of the first respondent without seeking permission from this court in pursuant to the earlier directions given by the Hon’ble Division in W.Ps. 20392 and 20363/2018. And further the court also cannot act upon by taking cognizance of the charge sheet in view of the bar under section 195 CrPC (Code of Criminal Procedure),” the court pronounced.

The court noted that the investigation was transferred to the CBI based on the complaint of one Kader Batcha, who was also an accused in the investigation carried out by Manickavel. She observed that if courts were to accept the representations made by accused person in every case claiming that the documents produced are false, no police officer would dare to investigate any criminal case by discharging his duty.

“In any criminal case filed by a responsible investigation officer, if the court presumes on the representation made by one of the accused that all the materials are false and that the investigation officer has to be prosecuted for bringing false evidence, no police officer will dare to investigate any criminal case by discharging his duty as an investigation officer. Because any accused can play game with the investigation officer by dragging him to criminal charges. It can also go to the extent of initiating disciplinary proceedings against the officer,” the bench highlighted.

The report was neither protected nor designated as confidential, hence the court ruled that the refusal to divulge it could not be justified. According to the judgement, denying the accused this material deprived him the chance to successfully defend himself and even to try to have the FIR quashed.

The bench decided, “Furnishing information about the charges is not an empty formality but a necessary element of natural justice.”

The court further stated that it was aware of the abuse of authority committed against innocent people by dishonest police officials. It mentioned that anyone who felt wronged by officers could pursue a remedy in accordance with the due process clause. The bench directed that the victim could request a discharge or stop the criminal proceedings by demonstrating a lack of supporting documentation. It then added that a complaint could be made against a police officer for violating any human rights.

The justice conveyed that if someone is made to stand trial on false pretences, he might petition the court to take action against the individual who provided false evidence after the trial is over. The court expressed that no action is taken on the allegation of false evidence prior to the trial’s end because this check and balance mechanism was made possible by law. However, in this instance the claim was made before the conclusion of the proceedings and CBI acquired control of the inquiry.

“If the court has not been given with any discretionary power to form its own opinion in order to prefer a complaint under section 195 CrPC, every one will try to stall the proceedings by making such complaints and undo the investigation already made and render the materials collected inactive,” it declared.

Unlawful FIR and charge sheet against Pon Manickavel

The court mentioned that there was no proof that the officer had submitted falsified witness testimonies or paperwork. It stated that Manickavel’s use of public authority while looking into the alleged acts at the time could not be considered a breach of law.

“No calculated attempt can be allowed to destabilize the progress made by the special team in the cases involving idol theft handled by them,” the justice asserted.

The court reaffirmed that FIRs should be quashed when the allegations do not reveal an offence or when the proceedings amount to abuse of process, citing the Supreme Court’s seminal decisions in Bhajan Lal and Lalita Kumari. The FIR and the charge sheet that followed were determined to be illegal and unsustainable in the present case.

“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,” it stressed.

As a result, the court quashed the charge sheet against him after finding no supporting evidence.

The court issued these observations in Manickavel’s petitions against the Judicial Magistrate for not giving him copies of the preliminary inquiry report. He also petitioned to have the CBI’s FIR against him quashed. On the plea of Kader Batcha, who was working as an Inspector of Police and was later charged as an additional accused in the heist, the investigation into the idol thefts was turned over to the CBI.

However, Manickavel contested the FIR as well as the decision to deny access to the preliminary report. He maintained that his request for a copy of the report, which served as the basis for the FIR, was improperly denied by the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Madurai.

Additionally, he argued that the proceedings went against previous division bench orders that explicitly ordered that no action could be taken against him or his team without the high court’s approval.

His reasons were accepted by the court. It pointed out that Manickavel had previously received an impeccable record from the state when he was named Special Officer in 2018, praising his efforts to retrieve multiple ancient idols valued at crores.

“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,” the bench commented.

Background of the matter

Kader Batcha petitioned the court to order the registration of a complaint against Manickavel for falsely accusing him of being involved in the theft of thirteen idols from the Palavoor temple in Tirunelveli. Batcha was termed as an offender because he and some other cops reportedly sold two of the idols they had found during the inquiry for Rs 15 lakh.

Batcha approched the high court in 2019 to take action against Manickavel. The CBI was ordered by the court to carry out an initial investigation which was finally completed in 2024. It alleged that Manickavel had intimidated Batcha, forged documents, framed him in criminal proceedings, and committed wrongful arrest. The CBI launched a formal complaint on this grounds in August of last year.

Afterward, the agency submitted a preliminary report to the court of the magistrate. Manickavel went to the high court after he was refused a copy of it despite his request. The charge sheet was filed by the CBI while this case was still pending. He therefore put forward the second plea to have the FIR cancelled.

Manickavel was already granted anticipatory bail by the high court after CBI lodged the case against him last year.

Manickavel was booked under sections 167 (public servant framing an incorrect document with an intent to cause injury), 193 (punishment for fabricating false evidence for the purpose of using it in any stage of the judicial proceedings), 195A (threatening or inducing a person to give false evidence), 196 (using evidence known to be false), 211 (false charge of offence made with an intent to injure), 218 (public servant framing incorrect record or writing with an intent to save person from punishment), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.

Pon Manickavel: The saviour of Hindu idols in Tamil Nadu

Former Inspector-General of Police A.G. Pon Manickavel assisted in solving more than fifty cases, retrieved twenty idols and remained an inspiration to many members of the police force. He headed the idol wing of CID and launched aggressive measures to rescue stolen and documented idols.

He even announced firm warning to show documentation or certifications in order to keep the item or turn in the unrecorded idols. If caught, failure to do any of these would lead to criminal prosecution.

50 years after being stolen from the Brihadeeswarar Temple two 1,000-year-old bronze idols of Rajaraja Chola and his wife Lokamadevi, were found by Manickavel’s idol wing. Poigainatha Kilavan Adhithan Sooryan, the Kodumablur king who assisted Raja Raja Chola in constructing the temple, reportedly presented the two idols to him alongside 11 others who remained missing.

The estimated value of the two idols exceeded Rs 150 crores. The idol wing of Tanjore Police filed a formal complaint against unidentified individuals in March 2018. The team visited the Calico museum after doing enquiries and the figures were discovered.

The dismantling of the Puducherry smuggling network was another noteworthy achievement of Manickavel. An idol wing team led by him searched a home in Colas Nagar in December 2016 and found 11 panchaloha idols valued at crores. Lord Nataraja’s idol was among them and the antique alone was worth Rs 31 crores at the time.

The recovered artefacts also included idols of Lord Shiva, Parvathi, Amman, Kalyanasundara, Somaskandar and Mahishasura Mardini. A crew lead by him recovered a stolen panchaloha idol of Amman after pursuing a car in autorickshaws. Four others were also taken into custody.

The top even exposed corruption in the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR & CE) Department. A senior staff member of the department was detained by the idol wing for embezzling money. Officials stated that two idols that should have had 5.75 kg of gold combined contained not a single gramme of the precious metal.

“Idols worth several hundreds of crores of rupees are preserved in rooms fitted with locks costing just Rs 250,” he informed in court once. He also told the court that the department was not properly maintaining the idols in another incident to which it responded, “If the idols are kept locked up without any maintenance, what is the purpose of having such a department?”

Predictably, the HR and CE authorities expressed their outrage for what they considered to be harassment. On the other hand, Manickavel had been praised profusely by those who closely studied the cases of heritage theft in India.

“TN HRCE Officials are ready to face hell in their next births but no possibility of conviction in this birth. Pon Manickavel’s honesty drives them desperate,” wrote temple activist TR Ramesh on social media.

Manickavel was a tough disciplinarian even concerning his own police personnel. An idol smuggler personally alerted Manickavel in 2008 that Subburaj, the Head Constable and Inspector Khader Basha had dealt illegally with six bronze icons that had been found on his property. They were then apprehended.

Attepmts to frame Pon Manickavel

There were significant efforts to discredit Manickavel. He was transferred to IG Railways after serving in the idol wing but the Madras High Court stepped in to keep him there. The Tamil Nadu government eventually granted him full additional charge in September 2017 as IGP of Idol Wing.

However, the relationship between the two sides was sour. The government sought to move all of the cases from Idol Wing to the CBI claiming poor performance, despite his stellar record but the government order was halted by the high court. Notably, CBI previously outlined that they lack the manpower to examine the cases.

Meanwhile, Manickavel continued to perform his duty. “They were conducting some probe behind my back and trying to fix me in some sort of allegation,” Manickavel voiced in Madra High Court in November 2018. The bench which was made up of Justices R Mahadevan and P D Audikesavalu, took his statement into account and ordered the state government to refrain from taking any negative action against him or his team without its consent.

Interestingly, as a result of his many accomplishments, Manickavel became a state icon. A Tamil film called “Pon Manickavel” which is based on his name starring Prabhu Deva and Nivetha Pethuraj in lead roles was released in 2021.