CHENNAI: The First Bench of the Madras HC on Wednesday ordered notice on a PIL writ petition praying for a direction to the state and the Centre to transfer all the fishermen killing cases to the National Investigating Agency (NIA) for effective investigation.
The Bench comprising Chief Justice MY Eqbal and Justice TS Sivagnanam ordered the notice while entertaining the PIL from Jebamani Mohanraj, general secretary of the Jebamani Janata Party of Abhiramapuram, on Wednesday. The petition also prayed for a direction to the State and Centre to award uniform compensation to the victims and/or their families.
According to petitioner, as many as 570 fishermen killing cases were registered in the State alone. But no effective investigation had been done by the police in any case, apparently on account of lack of infrastructure and hence, they ought to be transferred to the CBI or the NIA or any other SIT. In almost all the cases, the FIRs had been closed on the grounds ‘undetectable’ or ‘further action dropped’, petitioner said.