Key Points
A Kottayam vigilance court sentenced Ex-Keralam DGP Tomin Thachankary to four years in prison and a Rs 30 lakh fine for accumulating assets disproportionate to his known income.
The case, based on a complaint by anti-corruption activist Bobby Kuruvila, took over a decade to reach trial after the chargesheet was filed in 2013.
Thachankary's request for a lesser sentence citing chest pain and health issues was rejected by the court, which cited the seriousness of his abuse of power.
FORMER KERALAM DIRECTOR GENERAL OF POLICE (DGP) Tomin Thachankary has been found guilty in a 2007 case of illegally accumulating property and wealth. On Thursday, September 17, 2026, a special vigilance court in Kottayam sentenced Thachankary to four years of rigorous imprisonment in a disproportionate assets case, and ordered him to pay a fine of Rs 30 lakhs.
The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau accused the retired police officer of accumulating assets beyond his known sources of income between 2003 and 2007. As per the vigilance investigation, he had failed to account for assets and expenditure worth Rs 64.70 lakh during this period. A 2007 FIR had estimated the excess wealth at up to 135 per cent. Thachankary retired from police service in 2023.
Delivering the verdict, Vigilance Judge KV Rejanish held Thachankary guilty of owning assets disproportionate to his known sources of income during his service as a senior police officer. Court prosecutor K K Sreekanth said that the former DGP has also been ordered to pay a fine of Rs 30,84,892.39 in addition to the four-year prison term. “He will have to be lodged in prison as the sentence exceeds three years. The trial court cannot grant bail to him,” the court prosecutor said as quoted by Bar and Bench.
If he fails to pay the fine, Thachankary will face an additional two months in prison. As the sentence is for more than three years, he will have to seek bail from the Kerala High Court. The former DGP is likely to be taken to the Central Prison in Thiruvananthapuram on September 23, 2026.
When the vigilance court asked Thachankary if he had anything to say in his defense, the former DGP mentioned his “health issues” and remarked that he had been experiencing severe chest pain for the past few days and was not physically well. His plea for a lesser sentence by the court citing medical issues was rejected by the court. It remarked that Thachankary's position did not warrant leniency, especially considering the magnitude of his abuse of power, and sentenced him the maximum punishment sought by the prosecutors.
The investigating agency filed the charge sheet in 2013, but proceedings in the case remained pending for years. The trial resumed following a directive issued by the Kerala High Court in 2025.
The case came to light when Bobby Kuruvila, a self-proclaimed ‘anti-corruption crusader,’ accused Thachankary of acquiring houses, flats, and other properties by illegal means during his services. Kuruvila argued that the wealth accumulation was disproportionate to the former DGP’s known income. A case in this regard was filed in 2007, when Thachankary had resumed the position of Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG). However, a chargesheet was filed only in 2013, at the time when Thachankary was promoted to the rank of DGP.
Thachankary had previously moved a discharge petition, claiming that the assets under scrutiny were accumulated through family partition and gifts. The Vigilance Court, however, rejected his plea, stating that the chargesheet was legally valid and could be proceeded with.
The trial was concluded after the High Court directed the Vigilance Court to complete the proceedings within a specified period. The High Court had initially set June 30, 2026, as the deadline for pronouncing the verdict, but later extended the time limit until September 30, 2026.
Tomin Thachankary is a 1987-batch IPS officer of the Kerala cadre, in 2023, he retired as DGP (Investigation) of the Kerala State Human Rights Commission.
Over the course of his career, he held several important positions, including Managing Director of Kerala Marketfed and Consumerfed, Chairman and Managing Director of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), CMD of the Kerala Books and Publications Society, and Chief of the Kerala Fire and Rescue Services.
(Edited by Agniva Ray)
Suggested reading:
Subscribe to our channels on YouTube and WhatsApp
Download our app on Play Store