NEW DELHI / KOCHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday quashed the order of the Kerala High Court directing the police to continue the investigation into the case registered on the basis of a report submitted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) regarding the activities at the Muringoor Divine Retreat Centre near Chalakkudy.
The order was quashed following a petition filed by the Divine Retreat Centre against the High Court’s directive.
The Supreme Court also dismissed the petition filed by Venugopalan Nair of Kalarkode, Alappuzha.
The SIT, headed by the then IG Vinson M Paul, was constituted after the High Court received secret information regarding the alleged illegal activities at the Retreat Centre.
A case was registered by the Koratty police on the basis of the SIT report on April 27, 2007.
In the investigation conducted by the SIT, it was found that some inmates of the Retreat Centre were forcefully administered drugs for the mentally challenged and some of them were accommodated in isolated rooms.
The drugs were administered without the assistance of a psychiatrist.
According to the report, from 1991 to 2005, 974 persons died at the Retreat Centre and most of them were youths. The funerals were conducted without any formalities.
Earlier, the state government had submitted before the High Court that it had committed a mistake while filing an explanation before the court.
The government filed a new affidavit in the High Court requesting the court not to consider its stand on the issue.