CHENNAI: Madras High Court has sou-motu impleaded the State Home Secretary, DGP and the Tiruppur Superintendent of
Police as parties in the case pertaining to the alleged custodial rape and torture of a woman in Udumalpet on August 10.
When the matter came up before Justice V Ramasubramanian today, two miscellaneous petitions were filed by the petitioner, one seeking a probe by an independent agency on the allegation of rape and the other demanding compensation.
The Judge noted that unfortunately, the petitioner had neither impleaded the State government nor the DGP as parties and hence, the prayers could not be considered without giving an opportunity to the State government.
“Though I am dealing with the writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution and though in normal circumstances, the State is deemed to be represented by the police inspector, in a case which falls under the public domain and praying for a larger relief, it is imperative that the State is also given an opportunity of being heard. Therefore, I hereby suo-motu order the impleadment of the State by its Home Secretary........’’ the judge said.
Directing the Special Government Pleader IS Inbadurai to obtain instructions from the government with regard to the prayers, the Judge adjourned the matter till September 19.
Originally, in her writ petition one Rajakumari alleged that her 49-year-old mother Mallika (name changed) was tortured and raped by cops at the police station in Udumalpet on August 10. The police wanted to implicate her mother in the murder of Leelavathy, the owner of Mallika’s small house. However, the police had strongly denied the allegations.
Relief for mk in secretariat Row
Chennai: In a relief to DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi, Madras High Court on Wednesday dispensed with his personal appearance, in response to the summons issued by the one-man commission headed by Justice R Raghupathy, probing the ‘irregularities’ in the construction of new Secretariat and Assembly complex at the Omandoorar Estate in 2011. Justice V Ramasubramaniyan, who granted the stay while passing interim orders on a writ petition from Karunanidhi, also permitted his counsel to receive and fill up the questionnaire and adjourned the matter by two weeks. The commission was constituted, among other things, to probe the irregularities in the construction of the complex. It was alleged that a huge loss was caused to the State exchequer by constructing the buildings. Statutory approvals from the appropriate agencies were not obtained.