MADURAI: On where to conduct the trial of the Sathankulam custodial deaths case, a Special Bench of the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court on Tuesday said that only a Madurai court has the jurisdiction to conduct trial.
The Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) court of Madurai, where the CBI has filed its chargesheet in the case, can commit the case to the court of Principal District and Sessions Judge (PDJ) of Madurai. The PDJ can then proceed further in accordance with law, the Bench said. Only the PDJ of Madurai has jurisdiction to conduct trial in the cases, it added. The trial is likely to commence on Wednesday.
The Bench, comprising justices M Sathyanarayanan and V Bharathidasan, was constituted following a communication sent by the Principal District Judge (PDJ) of Thoothukudi to the Registry of the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court on August 4, 2020, seeking clarification on the matter.
The PDJ had sent the letter after the Special Public Prosecutor for CBI raised objections that the bail petitions of the arrested Sathankulam policemen ought to be heard by the Madurai court, not by the Thoothukudi court. Pursuant to his objections, the cases had later been transferred to the Sessions court in Madurai and were disposed of.