Court orders police protection for 72-year-old woman and seeks compliance report by June 2

New Delhi: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has imposed a ₹1 lakh penalty on S. Selvaganesh and directed police to initiate criminal proceedings after serious allegations surfaced that he forged documents to take over his adoptive mother’s properties.

The case came before a bench of Justices GK Ilanthiraiyan and R Poornima. They dismissed a habeas corpus petition filed by Selvaganesh. The court found that his 72-year-old adoptive mother, C. Jeyalakshmi — a retired lecturer who owns several properties — was not illegally detained. Instead, she had voluntarily moved to a private home in Theni district in November last year to protect herself and her properties from him.

According to the court records, Jeyalakshmi adopted Selvaganesh in 2021 because she was unmarried. However, she later told the court that he began transferring her properties into his own name by forging her signature and threatening her life.

Earlier this year, Selvaganesh filed a missing person complaint with the Dindigul police. After he came to know that she was staying in a private home, he filed a habeas corpus petition in court, claiming that she was being illegally detained.

When Jeyalakshmi was brought before the court, she denied these claims. She clearly stated that she was staying at the private home by her own choice because she feared for her life. She also requested police protection. She informed the court that she had already submitted complaints to the concerned authorities asking for the cancellation of the forged land documents and for action to be taken against Selvaganesh.

The High Court imposed an exemplary cost of ₹1 lakh on Selvaganesh. He has been ordered to pay the amount to the High Court Legal Services Authority within one week. The judges also directed the district registrar concerned to immediately begin the process of cancelling the property documents that were allegedly created using forged signatures.

Additionally, the court directed the police to register an FIR against S. Selvaganesh and to provide protection to C. Jeyalakshmi. The matter has been scheduled for June 2 to check whether the court’s directions have been followed.