MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Friday imposed a cost of `25,000 on a man from Thoothukudi for wasting the court’s time by filing a false petition alleging the abduction of a ward councillor.
A Bench comprising Justices T Raja and B Pugalendhi imposed the punishment on one M Palpandian from Thoothukudi. He had filed a habeas corpus petition seeking direction to trace a ward councilor from Kovilpatti panchayat -- one T Senthil Murugan, whom the petitioner alleged of being ‘abducted’ by unidentified persons.
After Senthil Murugan appeared before the court and gave a statement that he did not know the petitioner and was not abducted by anyone, the judges imposed `25,000 cost on Palpandian. They added that the amount should be paid to Gandhi Memorial Museum in Madurai within a week. The Bench had passed a similar order against one Raja on Thursday.
Meanwhile, one Anbarasan claimed that his mother Arockiya Santhana Rani, a ward councillor in Sivagangai, was abducted. However, the Sivagangai police produced before the court a video footage, in which Rani was seen stating that she was not kidnapped and that would appear before the Sivagangai Collector on Saturday.