Chennai: Madras high court has sought responses from Tamil Nadu govt and and the Chennai city commissioner of police on a habeas corpus petition challenging the detention of B T Arasakumar, who was arrested on charges of bribery and cheating private schools on the promise of obtaining various approvals, under the Goondas Act.The petition, filed by Arasakumar’s wife Kokila, said the allegations were a fallout of an internal dispute between the office-bearers of private school associations. “The alleged acts, even if accepted, do not disturb public order but relate only to a private dispute,” she said.“The detaining authority failed to distinguish between ‘law and order’ and ‘public order’, mechanically relied on an unrelated similar bail case, failed to consider relevant materials supplied, relied upon documents belatedly, and arrived at subjective satisfaction on irrelevant considerations,” the petitioner said. She also raised medical grounds demanding quashing of the detention order.A division bench of justices Anitha Sumanth and Sunder Mohan, on Monday, directed the state govt and Chennai city commissioner of police to submit their responses in four weeks.
