The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Orders reserved on plea challenging bail to councillor

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jan 03, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Orders reserved on plea challenging bail to councillor

Special Correspondent

`Sessions court failed to consider statements of 11 witnesses'

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has reserved its orders on a petition challenging the conditional bail granted to the DMK councillor, K. Dhanasekaran, arrested for allegedly spreading rumours resulting in the death of 42 persons in a stampede on December 18.

Justice S. Sardar Zackria Hussain, who suspended the bail granted by the I Additional Sessions Judge till Monday, said he would pass final orders on the appeal on January 4.

When the matter was taken up on Monday, Additional Advocate-General A.L. Somayaji submitted that the sessions court failed to consider the statements of 11 witnesses who spoke about the councillor's role in the stampede.

Relying on the Supreme Court guidelines, he said the subordinate court must consider the seriousness of the offence, nature of accusation, severity of punishment in case of conviction and reasonable apprehension of tampering with witnesses while granting bail in such cases. "The sessions court did not consider any of these factors," Mr. Somayaji added. Senior counsel R. Shanmugasundaram, representing Mr. Dhanasekaran, said bail once granted could not be interfered with unless the prosecution showed that the particular person had abused it.

Referring to the First Information Report, he said the report was read out to the sessions judge in its entirety and he granted conditional bail after satisfying himself that the "prosecution story was unbelievable."

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