MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has directed the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) to prosecute two witnesses who initially deposed against a former police inspector in a graft case but later turned hostile during cross-examination.
Justice B Pugalendhi, who passed the order, also sought an explanation from the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) of Nagercoil for allowing the cross-examination of the witnesses more than three years after their chief examination, observing that the delay contributed to them turning hostile.
The court issued the directions while hearing a petition filed by S Rajasekaran, former inspector of Vadasery police station, seeking suspension of the three-year prison sentence handed to him in January in connection with a bribery case. Rajasekaran was convicted of demanding a monthly ‘mamool’ of Rs 50,000 from a CD shop owner in 2013. Challenging the conviction and sentence, Rajasekaran filed an appeal along with a petition seeking suspension of his sentence.
The two witnesses in question were the complainant and an official who accompanied him as a shadow witness when the DVAC arrested the inspector. Rajasekaran’s counsel told the court that both witnesses supported the prosecution during their chief examination in 2015, but turned hostile during cross-examinations conducted in 2018 and 2019. During the cross-examination, the complainant claimed there was no demand or acceptance of bribe by Rajasekaran and alleged that the money was placed inside the inspector’s diary while he was away bathing.
The defence argued the case was foisted to prevent Rajasekaran from initiating action against the CD shop. Criticising the conduct of the trial court, the court ordered the DVAC to prosecute the two witnesses.