The legal net surrounding Tamil Nadu’s political landscape tightened sharply on Monday, October 26, when the Madras High Court dismissed an anticipatory bail plea filed by former School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi. The high-profile decision paves the way for intense scrutiny of a sprawling alleged corruption scandal involving ₹100 crore extracted from private school managements.
Justice V. Lakshminarayanan delivered the ruling, refusing protection from arrest to the senior Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader, as reported by The News Minute. The case sits squarely on the desk of the Chennai Police’s Central Crime Branch (CCB), which alleges that vast sums of money changed hands in exchange for statutory clearances, school upgradations, and permanent government recognition.
How the Private School Approval Racket Unravelled
Investigators trace the origins of the fraud to an unregistered collective calling itself the Tamil Nadu Private Schools Association. According to details outlined by Live Law, the initial FIR stemmed from a complaint filed by the association’s former general secretary. The complaint accused the group’s president, B.T. Arasakumar, and treasurer Muthukumar of collecting massive subscription and membership fees from educational administrators under the explicit promise of securing official NOCs, licenses, and renewals.
Arasakumar reportedly leveraged his political footprint—operating as a DMK spokesperson—to convince private school managements that he possessed direct influence within the government machinery. Administrators were told the collected millions flowed directly into party coffers as “party funds.” Yet, according to The News Minute, the promised permissions never materialized, nor did the operators return the cash.
Madras High Court Denies Anticipatory Bail To Former Minister Anbil Mahesh In Alleged Corruption Case@Anbil_Mahesh https://t.co/wRtCPOJ0KN
The CCB initially moved against Arasakumar on June 27, arresting him before detaining him under the stringent Goondas Act on July 14. Though a special court in Chennai granted him bail on September 29 after investigators failed to file their final report within the mandated 90-day window, the legal jeopardy for political figures deepened. Prosecutors subsequently filed an alteration report before the Metropolitan Magistrate, pulling sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act into the charge sheet and explicitly arraying Anbil Mahesh as an accused.
High Court Rejects Anbil Mahesh Bail Plea
During the proceedings before Justice Lakshminarayanan, legal counsel for Anbil Mahesh argued that the prosecution held zero concrete evidence proving the former minister received illegal gratification. The defense maintained that the politician performed no overt act in the scheme, suggesting instead that disgruntled associates merely dropped his name to extort funds from school administrators following political shifts.
Those arguments failed to persuade the bench. With the dismissal of the anticipatory bail plea, the CCB retains full clearance to pursue the former minister. Meanwhile, the legal turmoil for the party widened further on the same day. As noted by The Times of India, the Madras High Court also dismissed a review petition filed by another former DMK minister, K.N. Nehru, challenging a February order that directed the registration of an FIR in a separate tender manipulation and corruption case.
TVK Condemns DMK Administration for Corruption
The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) seized upon the developments to launch a blistering critique against the DMK administration.
Trouble for Former Tamil Nadu Minister Anbil Mahesh-Anbil Mahesh arrested by the CCB.-Madras High Court rejects his anticipatory bail plea.-Anbil booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act
The TVK’s IT wing took to social media platform X to condemn the party, releasing statements that branded the DMK an “evil force” and the “very fountainhead of corruption.” Directing sharp rhetoric at the state of public administration, the opposition faction accused political heavyweights of turning the educational dreams of youth and students into hunting grounds for personal enrichment.
With a detailed copy of Justice Lakshminarayanan’s order still awaited, investigators continue to map the financial trails of the alleged ₹100-crore network. As the CCB accelerates its pursuit of absconding figures like treasurer Muthukumar, the political cost of the school approval scandal continues to mount for the state leadership.
Hours after his anticipatory bail plea was dismissed by the Madras High Court on Monday (October 26, 2026), former DMK Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi was arrested by the Chennai police in connection with an alleged multicrore scam.✍️ @vijaythehindu https://t.co/Tobx2H8jmm
