Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Thursday issued an order suspending the four-year jail sentence handed down to former director general of police Tomin J Thachankary by a Vigilance court in connection with a disproportionate assets case.
Thachankary is a 1987-batch Indian Police Service officer from the Kerala cadre who eventually retired in 2023 while serving as the DGP of Investigations at the State Human Rights Commission.
Justice A Badharudeen noted that while the special judge's findings could not be faulted prima facie, the four-year term warranted suspension in the interest of justice despite objections from the state, provided necessary conditions were met.
As part of these court-mandated conditions, the former police chief must deposit 75 percent of the fine that was originally levied against him.
The conviction took place in September when a Vigilance court in Kottayam found the former DGP guilty of accumulating wealth beyond his known legal sources of income during the period spanning from 2003 to 2007, marking the first time an officer of the DGP rank was convicted in such a case.
At the time of the initial ruling, the court sentenced him to four years of rigorous imprisonment alongside a fine of ₹30.84 lakh.
The presiding Vigilance judge had emphasized in the judgment that individuals holding high public offices carry a heightened duty to uphold strict standards of integrity, noting that the disproportionate amount of over ₹30.84 lakh represented more than 52 percent of his known income and constituted a significant, unexplained accumulation of wealth.