Menon who was arrested by the Jubilee Hills police last Friday in connection with a cheating case, was ordered to be released after he paid a whopping Rs 80-lakh surety. The case was filed by city-based NATCO.

The court, however, asked him not to leave the city and deposit his passport till it resumes hearing on July 27. Menon was asked to appear before the station house officer of Punjagutta police every day, until the case was disposed of.

The NATCO group lodged a complaint with the Jubilee Hills police that Menon had dishonoured two cheques worth 9.28 lakh US dollars which were issued towards purchase of drugs from NATCO. The NATCO counsel urged the court to impound the passport of Raji Menon until the case was disposedof.

According to the court directive, Menon personally appeared before the Punjagutta SHO this morning and promised that he would not leave the city.

Meanwhile, the income tax department has reportedly started verifying the source of income of four persons, who stood surety for Menon by depositing Rs 20 lakh each. While one of them is said to be a doctor working at a corporate hospital in the city, the remaining three are believed to have given their addresses at Cuddapah.

A former Congress MP from Andhra Pradesh is understood to have arranged a part of the cash of Rs 80 lakh deposited with the court for obtaining bail.

The company had exported Rs 3.7-crore worth medicines to Raji Menon two years ago and the latter paid $ 10,000 in advance. He gave cheques for the balance amount. However, he subsequently dishonoured the cheques on the ground that the medicines expired and, therefore, were disposed of without sale.

The company lodged a complaint with the police and secured a non-bailable warrant fromthe V metropolitan magistrate against Menon. Meanwhile, NATCO lodged two private complaints in XXIII metropolitan magistrate court here.

On a tip- off that Menon arrived here on July 16, police took him into custody the subsequent day. He was produced before the V metropolitan magistrate and the court remanded him to 15 days judicial custody.

On Monday, his counsel moved a bail petition in the V metropolitan court, which granted him conditional bail prohibiting him from leaving the country on payment of two sureties for Rs 20,000 each. However, Menon did not hand over his passport to the Jubilee Hills police.

Meanwhile, the XXIII metropolitan court directed the prison authorities to produce him before the court as two private complaints were pending against him. He was produced before the court on July 19 and the magistrate directed him to pay a surety of Rs 40 lakh each in two cases.