Madras High Court Reserves Verdict on Devanathan Yadav’s Bail in Mylapore Nidhi Fund Case

Swift Summary

• The Madras High Court reserved its decision on a bail petition filed by T. Devanathan Yadav, former chairman and MD of Mylapore Hindu Permanent Fund Nidhi Limited.
• Yadav has been incarcerated since August 2024 for allegedly defaulting ₹618 crore owed to approximately 5,600 depositors.
• Justice G. Jayachandran questioned the utility of Yadav’s continued incarceration and criticized the lack of police action in liquidating assets to refund depositors over the past year.
• Senior counsel S.T.S. Moorthy claimed that his client provided a complete list of properties but argued that the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) undervalued them.
• Additional Public Prosecutor E. Raj Thilak accused Yadav of withholding details about business operations and pointed out drastically reduced property values in recent years.
• The judge raised concerns over sealing the company indefinitely, noting it harms depositors while benefiting borrowers unable to repay loans.
• He suggested appointing an administrator to recover dues owed by borrowers but deferred passing orders until reviewing all related records.

Indian Opinion Analysis

The case highlights critical challenges in addressing large-scale financial frauds effectively. While incarcerating alleged offenders is vital for accountability, prolonged imprisonment without tangible recovery measures can disadvantage victims-in this instance, thousands of unpaid depositors who have yet to see restitution despite claims valued at ₹618 crore.

The court’s proposal for appointing an administrator may offer greater operational flexibility than maintaining indefinite closure on such assets, potentially accelerating recovery efforts from borrowers or reclaiming liquefiable resources trapped within the company framework. Moving forward, procedural checks ensuring clarity and accuracy in valuation as well as enhanced coordination between judicial oversight and investigator action-such as through updated audit mechanisms-could strengthen India’s handling of complex economic offenses without prolonging depositor suffering.

For more details: September 03, 2025 – original Article