Public servant granted bail after wife’s personal apology

CHENNAI: According to legal records, R Venkatesa Perumal, the erstwhile member (non-judicial) of the TN State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (TNSCDR), arrested by the Chennai police for impersonating the personal assistance (PA) of Judge Anand Venkatesh, was let out on bail after his wife apologised to the judge.

Perumal was arrested in August this year following a complaint from the judge’s PA about an impostor contacting SSN College, seeking admission for a boy. A senior lawyer had alerted the PA about the turn of events.

Perumal was booked under sections of IPC, including 417 (cheating), 419 (cheating by impersonation), among others. When the bail plea came before the principal sessions judge, S Alli, his counsels submitted that their client was innocent.

“The petitioner’s wife had met the honourable Judge in person and sought unconditional apology for the incident and the lordship was pleased to pardon the family of the petitioner. This petitioner is a chronic diabetic patient and needs daily care and monitoring of his sugar level,” they said.

While the court took note of the offence, the City Public Prosecutor (CPP) too submitted that he knew about the wife’s apology and that he had no objection to grant bail.

After 21 days in jail, Perumal was granted conditional bail in the second week of September, requiring him to appear before the police station every day until further orders and not abscond until trial.

When DT Next visited the TNSCDR forum, the staff there were reluctant to share more details on Perumal. An official said, “Perumal hasn’t returned. It’s a given that his tenure in the commission is over. We’ve not sent any official communication in this regard yet.”

Sources said that he was appointed to the post in early 2022. Officials at the High Court police, who arrested Perumal, were not forthcoming in sharing any details of their investigation.