
The Kerala High Court on Thursday, 15 October 2026, suspended the four-year jail sentence of former Director General of Police Tomin Thachankary in a disproportionate assets case. Justice A Badharudeen allowed Thachankary's plea to suspend the sentence until the High Court decides his appeal challenging the conviction.

The trial court in Kottayam had convicted Thachankary on 17 September 2026 under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, finding he had amassed assets worth over Rs 64 lakh between 2003 and 2007, with a disproportion of 52.33 per cent of his known income. A fine of Rs 30.84 lakh was also imposed.
Thachankary's appeal contends the trial court's verdict is perverse, citing irregularities in the sanction order for prosecution and miscalculation of his income. The detailed order of the High Court is awaited.
Barandbench and The Hindu both report straight facts from the same court order, with no discernible slant. Barandbench's version is longer and includes the petitioner's self-serving arguments, the withdrawn sanction order, the wife's income, and the calculation method, which The Hindu omits. The Hindu leads with the conviction details (52.33% disproportion, 18 properties) and the VACB's case. The balanced reading is that the High Court granted interim relief solely on the pending appeal without ruling on the merits, the detailed order will settle the disputed sanction order and income calculation issues when it is released. The next concrete step is the High Court's detailed order.
Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral
Sources (2): barandbench.com (neutral report), thehindu.com (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Methodology and corrections.