CHENNAI: Uunder the Commission of Inquiry Act, the Tamil Nadu government is empowered to set up a committee to probe the death of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, the Central government told the first bench of the Madras High Court on Monday.
In his common counter-affidavit filed before the bench of acting Chief Justice Huluvadi G Ramesh and Justice R Mahadevan on behalf of the Prime Minister’s Office, the Union Ministries of Parliamentary Affairs, Home and Law and Justice, their senior standing counsel J Madhanagopal Rao submitted that no representation was received from any quarter to preserve the corpse of Jayalalithaa for autopsy by experts in the field.
The counter also said that the PMO’s office and the Union Ministries of Parliamentary Affairs and Home are not at all necessary parties to the PIL and requested the court that they may be deleted.
In his PIL, Joseph, an AIADMK worker, has alleged foul play in the mysterious death of Jayalalithaa and demanded an investigation by a committee comprising retired Supreme Court judges.
The counter added that as per the 7th Schedule of the Constitution, public health and sanitation, hospitals and dispensaries, public order and police are State subjects coming under List II. The counter made it clear that the responsibility is primarily that of the State government concerned to deal with the subjects.