BANGALORE: The State Government is again likely to seek a transfer of the trial of 12 alleged Tamil separatists, including Prof. Nedunchezhian, from the Sessions Court in Bangalore to a special court.

This will be the second time in the last few months that the State will be seeking the transfer of cases involving Prof. Nedunchezhian from a Sessions Court to a special court.

On March 22, the High Court allowed an application by the State seeking the transfer of cases of Tamil separatists from the District and Sessions Court on Old Post Office Road to a special court.

A few months later, the court had permitted the trial to be conducted in the Sessions Court after the then public prosecutor had said that he had no objection to it. This change led to security concerns being raised by the police and the State Public Prosecutor's office about the venue. The police were of the view that their security concerns would be addressed to a large extent if the trial was held at the special court in Parappana Agrahara where the activists were lodged.

The trial of the activists, who are facing charges of secession and of waging a war against the State, had commenced in the Court of the Principal District Civil and Sessions Judge (Bangalore) before it was transferred on March 22.

Prof. Nedunchezhian and 11 others were charge-sheeted in 2003 by the Frazer Town police in Bangalore on charges of criminal conspiracy. The accused, the police alleged, had drawn up a plan to wage a war against the State.

While Vijay Murthy (now dead) was the first accused in the case, Prof Nedunchezhian from the Tanjore University was made accused no. 12.

The police alleged that the accused had conspired between 1996 and 2002 to wage a war for disturbing peace in Karnataka and to create a separate Tamil nation. Some of them got military training from the LTTE in Sri Lanka. Seeking a change in the venue, the police said it would be dangerous to take the accused to the Sessions Court.

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