MADURAI: Dismissing a PIL seeking arrest of policemen accused with the alleged custodial death of R Akash of Manamadurai, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court said it is pained to note that the deceased’s body still lies in the mortuary.
A bench of justices N Sathish Kumar and M Jothiraman on Wednesday said decent burial is a fundamental right, but the parents of the deceased are preventing the deceased from getting one by refusing to receive the body. Further pointing out that there are no legal provisions mandating the immediate arrest of suspects in a criminal case, the judges opined that the PIL appears to be a ‘publicity interest litigation’ and dismissed it.
Earlier, Additional Advocate General M Ajmal Khan informed the court that a single judge who had already seized of the matter had reserved orders on a petition filed by Akash’s father, Rajesh Kannan. He also added that the state, on its own, fulfilled the demands of the protesters to alter the charges and further provided compensation to Akash’s family.
Seven policemen have been suspended in connection with the case, Khan said, adding that the CB-CID has so far examined 41 witnesses and secured CCTV footage of the police station and is awaiting the judicial magistrate’s inquiry report and the final opinion on the postmortem examination.
The litigant, C Selvakumar, founder and president of the Madurai District Devendra Kula Velalar Uravinar Sangam, also sought a direction from the Election Commission to transfer all police personnel in Sivaganga to another district and instead deploy officers from other districts during the election but the judges said it’s the prerogative of the commission.