Chennai ,November 16(BPNS)

The Madras High Court asked why the AIADMK general secretary ,Edappadi K.Palaniswami (EPS) could not be summoned in the Kodanad heist and murder case.

Justice Velmurugan of the Madras High Court said that Palaniswami was not the Chief Minister of the state at present and asked the prosecution why he could not be summoned in the Kodanad heist and murder case of 2017.

The court on Friday (November 15, 2024) reserved its orders on a plea to examine not only him but also former CM Jayalalithaa’s close aide V.K. Sasikala and her relatives.

Justice P. Velmurugan deferred his orders on a 2021 criminal revision petition filed by three accused, D. Deepu, M.S. Satheesan, and A. Santhosh Samy, against the refusal of a sessions court in the Nilgiris to summon and examine Palaniswami, Sasikala, and seven others in connection with the crime reported at the sprawling tea estate jointly owned by Jayalalithaa and her aide.

The petitioners’ counsel Romeo Roy Alfred said, his clients had filed a petition before the trial court to summon not only Palaniswami and Sasikala but also the latter’s relatives J. Elavarasi and V.N. Sudhakaran; former Nilgiris Collector P. Shankar; former Superintendent of Police Murali Rambha; AIADMK State organiser Sajeevan; the estate manager Natarajan; and another individual named Sunil.

Similarly, the prime accused in the murder-cum-heist case K.V. Sayan had also filed a petition to summon an equal number of nine individuals, and the only common witness in both the petitions was the estate manager Natarajan.

The other witnesses whom he wanted to examine included an Assistant Director of Forensic Sciences Lab, Coimbatore Government Medical College Hospital’s Dean, and others.

The sessions court had passed common orders on both the petitions on April 30, 2021, and permitted the examination of only three witnesses, which included Natarajan, Forensic Sciences Assistant Director S. Raj Mohan, and an Assistant Engineer of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board, Kodanad Division.

The request to summon and examine all the others was rejected on various grounds.

After perusing the sessions court’s order and taking note that Palaniswami was not the Chief Minister anymore, Justice Velmurugan reserved his orders on the criminal revision petition.

Earlier, when the judge wanted to know the status of the trial proceedings at present, a government counsel replied that the police had obtained permission for further investigation in the case and that the probe was still on.