MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday closed the suo motu contempt plea filed against three policemen in 2020 for preventing a judicial magistrate from conducting an inquiry at Sathankulam police station in the custodial death case of Jeyaraj and Beniks.
A bench, comprising Justices PN Prakash and R Hemalatha, closed the petition after recording the ‘unconditional apology’ tendered by the three policemen. Pointing out that the trial in the case was still in progress, the judges said, “Nothing should be done to prejudice the course of the trial or give advantage to the accused.”
The contempt proceedings were initiated on June 30, 2020, when the Court was hearing the suo motu writ petition, filed taking cognisance of the father-son duo’s death. The then Kovilpatti Judicial Magistrate I had submitted a report to the high court on the inquiry conducted by him at the Sathankulam police station. In the said report, the magistrate raised complaints of hostility by the policemen at the station, especially ADSP D Kumar, DSP C Prathapan and constable Maharajan.