The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Kanchi Mutt lawyers get anticipatory bail

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 08, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Kanchi Mutt lawyers get anticipatory bail

By Our Staff Reporter

KANCHEEPURAM, MARCH 7. The District Sessions Court today granted anticipatory bail to three Kanchi Sankara Mutt lawyers, who apprehended arrest on a police complaint lodged by Chitra, wife of the accused-turned-approver in the Sankararaman murder case, Ravi Subramaniam.

The principal district judge, G.M. Akbar Ali, said granting of anticipatory bail would not affect the investigation. For, two of the petitioners were senior lawyers and the third was a member of the Legal Aid Services.

Y. Thiyagarajan and A. Shanmugham and Ms. Revathi should be released on bail, in the event of arrest, on their producing their own bond. They should comply with Section 438 (2) of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Ms. Revathi should appear before the Siva Kanchi Police between 10 a.m. and noon on Saturdays for four weeks.

Appearing for Mr. Thiyagarajan and Mr. Shanmugham, senior advocate D. Lakshmana Reddiyar, said the case was fabricated.

Any accused-turned-approver would be treated as an `honoured guest' in prison. Ravi Subramaniam was kept in a separate cell in the Kancheepuram sub-jail and was under the watchful eyes of prison and police authorities, counsel said.

If anyone, even legal aid counsel, wanted to meet a prisoner, he/she would be allowed to meet him only in the presence of jail authorities in the reception room. Under these circumstances it would be impossible for the women lawyers — Nadira Banu and Revathi — to meet and threaten Ravi Subramaniam.

Moreover, the allegation that the women lawyers attempted to lure the accused-turned-approver with money could not be accepted on the face of it as Ravi Subramaniam seemed to be a rich person. He had presented a crown to the Kanchi Sankaracharya, Sri Jayendra Saraswati, Mr. Reddiyar said.

Making his submission on behalf of Ms. Revathi, advocate Abdul Hakeem claimed that the police seemed to have conducted the investigation well before receiving a complaint from an affected party. The police had collected documents on the appointment of women lawyers as Legal Aid counsel, a copy of their visit to the sub-jail and the visitors' book on February 14 itself. Ms. Chitra lodged a complaint with the police against the women lawyers only on February 19.

The police action clearly indicated that Ms. Nadira Banu and Ms. Revathi were being made scapegoats. Their main objective seemed to deter Mr. Thiyagarajan and Mr. Shanmugham from appearing for the accused 1 in the Sankararaman murder case — Sri Jayendra Saraswati.

The public prosecutor, K. Arumugham, presented the documents and the case diary and informed the court that the Madras High Court granted anticipatory bail to Sri Jayendra Saraswati, whose name had appeared in Ms. Chitra's complaint.

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