Anticipatory bail plea of former bank manager dismissed

The Madras High Court has dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of a former bank manager who allegedy swindled Rs 1.31 crore by sanctioning bogus loans to self-help group members.
Justice P N Prakash of Madurai bench, dismissing the plea of Mahendran, former manager of Union Bank of India, Sayalkudi, yesterday said the nature of allegations against the petitioner was very serious and the amount involved was also high.
Though the petitioner accused his successor in the branch of having lodged the complaint with ulterior motives and without obtaining the permission of his superiors, the judge said the Code of Criminal Procedure did not make such permission an indispensable condition for setting the law in motion.

The judge said the bank's Regional Office had reprimanded Mahendran's successor Sesha Mari Kumaran on February 18 and sought his explanation only for not keeping the matter in wraps and allowing the media to get a wind of it thereby causing loss of reputation to the bank.