Kerala High Court seeks Tomin Thachankary's prison medical records

The Kerala High Court sought Tomin J Thachankary's prison medical records while hearing his overseas travel plea. The scrutiny follows conflicting claims of illness in jail and fitness to travel for work.Image used for representational purposes onlyKochi,Nov 2, 2026 13:18 ISTThe Kerala High Court on Monday sought the prison hospitalisation records of former Kerala Director General of Police Tomin J Thachankary, who was convicted in a disproportionate assets case and is out on bail, after he requested permission to travel abroad for work, news agency Press Trust of India reported.Justice A Badharudeen issued the direction while hearing Thachankary's application seeking a change in his bail conditions to allow him to travel overseas.The court noted that Thachankary had claimed he was unwell when he was sent to prison but now wanted to travel abroad for work after securing bail.Calling the claims contradictory, the court directed the jail superintendent to submit a report detailing the illnesses Thachankary suffered from in prison and the number of days he was hospitalised, according to PTI. Justice Badharudeen orally remarked in Malayalam that the public would think judges had no intelligence if the court accepted such contradictory claims."When they go to jail, they claim to be sick, and on coming out they want to travel abroad. How can it be," he asked. The court posted the matter for further hearing on November 6.On October 15, the High Court suspended Thachankary's four-year sentence in the disproportionate assets case. A vigilance court had sentenced him to four years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 30.84 lakh.In his appeal against the conviction and sentence, Thachankary claimed that none of the documents collected by the investigating agency had been produced before the trial court.He also claimed that the conviction was unsustainable and illegal, alleging serious errors in the assessment of evidence and reliance on incorrect calculations by the investigating officers.The High Court has now sought details of Thachankary's illnesses and hospitalisation during his imprisonment before considering his request to travel abroad for work.- Ends