The Supreme Court Monday rejected the plea by Tamil Nadu government challenging an Andhra Pradesh trial court order acquitting DMK leader and former union minister M K Azhagiri and 12 others in the Krishna murder case.
Azhagiri is son of DMK supremo and former Tamil Nadu chief minister M.Karunanidhi.
Questioning the locus of the Tamil Nadu government to appeal against the Andhra Pradesh trial court order, a bench of Justice B S Chauhan and Justice S A Bobde said that under the amended provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.P.C.), the victim can move an appeal before the high court.
The court said this when senior counsel Mukul Rohtagi told the court that the trial was a mock trial in which 78 of the 82 witnesses turned hostile, revenue officials turned hostile and witnesses who made statements under Section 164 Cr.P.C. before the magistrate too turned hostile.
The Tami Nadu government, in its appeal, said that it was moving the apex court after a gap of five years as it was left with no remedy as the Andhra Pradesh government did not move the state high court against May 8, 2008, acquittal order by the Chittoor session courts.
It said this was despite its request to the Andhra government.
Justice Chauhan said that "we have the powers and we use it sparingly" as Rohtagi told the court that the original investigating agency was from Tamil Nadu and the apex court had powers to entertain appeal by a state government.
The court was unimpressed as Rohtagi said that the order by the trial court acquitting Azhagiri and others was such that "craves for justice".
While DMK government did not move in the matter after the acquittal of Azhagiri and 12 others, the AIADMK government, after it came to power January 5, 2011, asked the Andhra Pradesh government to appeal against the acquittal order.