10-26-2005, 03:56 PM
<b>SC orders shifting of seer's trial out of TN</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Wednesday, October 26, 2005 (New Delhi):
The Supreme Court has ordered that the trial of Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati be shifted out from Tamil Nadu to Pondicherry.
The Kanchi seer, who is the main accused in the murder of temple manager Shankaraman, had petitioned that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa was personally interfering in the trial.
His lawyers had claimed that the seer would not get a fair trial in the state.
<b>"We had said that the state machinery is being used in such a way that conviction is predetermined," said Krishna Kumar, the Shankaracharya's Counsel.</b>
<b>Major setback</b>
The order comes as a setback for the Jayalalithaa government, which has been sharply criticized by the apex court.
The court said the state machinery was interested not just in securing the petitioner's conviction, but also creating a fear psychosis in the minds of the people and blocking religious activities of various groups.
The SC also said the state could clearly not tolerate any kind of dissent, as was clear by its prosecution of prominent politicians and journalists.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The Supreme Court has ordered that the trial of Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati be shifted out from Tamil Nadu to Pondicherry.
The Kanchi seer, who is the main accused in the murder of temple manager Shankaraman, had petitioned that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa was personally interfering in the trial.
His lawyers had claimed that the seer would not get a fair trial in the state.
<b>"We had said that the state machinery is being used in such a way that conviction is predetermined," said Krishna Kumar, the Shankaracharya's Counsel.</b>
<b>Major setback</b>
The order comes as a setback for the Jayalalithaa government, which has been sharply criticized by the apex court.
The court said the state machinery was interested not just in securing the petitioner's conviction, but also creating a fear psychosis in the minds of the people and blocking religious activities of various groups.
The SC also said the state could clearly not tolerate any kind of dissent, as was clear by its prosecution of prominent politicians and journalists.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->