CHENNAI : Can the ‘ghost’ of a woman, who died in 2003, move courts and obtain orders in its favour till 2014?“No,” said Madras High Court Judge P N Prakash, directing the Thirumangalam police inspector here to register an FIR and probe persons, who forged documents and filed cases in name of a dead person, S Rajeswari, and file a final report before the jurisdictional court in six months.The judge directed the HC Registry to forward a copy of his order to the SC Registrar-General with a request to place the matter before the Chief Justice of India and take appropriate action.
The judge was disposing of a criminal original petition from S N Kulasekaran on Tuesday and allowed him to pursue his criminal complaint and execution proceedings, after disposal of the civil appeals pending before SC.Kulasekaran purchased land at Anna Nagar in 1969. As it became encroached upon by some, he moved the court in 1981. From the alleged encroachers, the property changed hands, including to Rajeswari, and after her death to others. He filed the present petition for a directive to Thirumangalam police to file status report on action taken on his revelation about Rajeswari.
Justice Prakash noted that as per death certificate from Chennai Corporation, Rajeswari died on February 7, 2003. The SLPs were preferred before SC after that. The supporting affidavit was verified at Delhi on August 3, 2013, describing Rajeswari, as wife of Shanmugam, aged about 88 on that date. SC’s final order of status quo was made on July 14, 2014. Status report filed by Inspector (Law and Order) Thirumangalam, confirmed this.“... it can be believed that certain persons with vested interest are conducting litigations in the name of a dead person... The persons who are responsible ... must be punished by the long arm of the law,” the judge said.