03-08-2005, 09:14 PM
http://www.hindu.com/2005/03/05/stories/...690400.htm
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--> Nothing to implicate Kanchi lawyers: High Court
By Our Staff Reporter
CHENNAI, MARCH 4. The Madras High Court today said it was unable to find any direct nexus between two senior advocates of the Kancheepuram bar and the alleged intimidation of Ravi Subramaniam, accused-turned-approver in the Sankararaman murder case, inside the Kancheepuram sub-jail premises.
Justice K.P. Sivasubramaniam, recording the Public Prosecutor K. Duraisamy's statement that there were no plans to arrest the advocates in connection with the matter at this stage, said: "There is nothing to implicate either Shanmugam or Thyagarajan, who happen to be lawyers defending the accused in the murder case. The facts stated in both the complaints [one given to the Magistrate by Mr. Ravi Subramaniam himself and the other by his wife, Chitra, to the Sivakanchi police] disclose that the main allegations are against two women advocates â Nadira Banu and Revathy Vasudevan."
Posting the matter to March 11 for the prosecution to file its counter-affidavit, Mr. Justice Sivasubramaniam also incorporated the submissions of the petitioner's senior counsel, K. Chandru, that advocates doing their duties as advocates for the accused could not be subjected to threats. <b>"From the beginning, the investigation was very aggressive, and the object of the present complaint is only to threaten the advocates so that they would be discouraged from defending the accused,"</b> he said.
Mr. Duraisamy, however, said the mere fact that the accused were advocates would not mean that they were above any action. He said the approver in the case himself had given a complaint directly to the Magistrate to the effect that two women advocates had come and threatened him to retract his confession.
"There was a definite attempt by the lawyers," the Public Prosecutor said, adding that even earlier <b>they had managed to get a Deputy Superintendent of Police, who was part of the investigation team, to contact Mr. Ravi Subramaniam inside the jail and obtain a signed statement retracting his confession.</b> The approver refused to oblige, and the police official had now been kept under suspension, he said.
<b>When the judge wanted to know why the approver did not lodge a complaint, Mr. Duraisamy said that if any complaint were received from him the prosecution would proceed against the official.</b>
<b>Mr. Justice Sivasubramaniam, strongly disapproving of officials of judiciary and police rushing to the Press, said that till date no action had been taken against anybody responsible for leaking a portion of investigation process to the media. To this, the prosecutor said the matter was being investigated.</b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--> Nothing to implicate Kanchi lawyers: High Court
By Our Staff Reporter
CHENNAI, MARCH 4. The Madras High Court today said it was unable to find any direct nexus between two senior advocates of the Kancheepuram bar and the alleged intimidation of Ravi Subramaniam, accused-turned-approver in the Sankararaman murder case, inside the Kancheepuram sub-jail premises.
Justice K.P. Sivasubramaniam, recording the Public Prosecutor K. Duraisamy's statement that there were no plans to arrest the advocates in connection with the matter at this stage, said: "There is nothing to implicate either Shanmugam or Thyagarajan, who happen to be lawyers defending the accused in the murder case. The facts stated in both the complaints [one given to the Magistrate by Mr. Ravi Subramaniam himself and the other by his wife, Chitra, to the Sivakanchi police] disclose that the main allegations are against two women advocates â Nadira Banu and Revathy Vasudevan."
Posting the matter to March 11 for the prosecution to file its counter-affidavit, Mr. Justice Sivasubramaniam also incorporated the submissions of the petitioner's senior counsel, K. Chandru, that advocates doing their duties as advocates for the accused could not be subjected to threats. <b>"From the beginning, the investigation was very aggressive, and the object of the present complaint is only to threaten the advocates so that they would be discouraged from defending the accused,"</b> he said.
Mr. Duraisamy, however, said the mere fact that the accused were advocates would not mean that they were above any action. He said the approver in the case himself had given a complaint directly to the Magistrate to the effect that two women advocates had come and threatened him to retract his confession.
"There was a definite attempt by the lawyers," the Public Prosecutor said, adding that even earlier <b>they had managed to get a Deputy Superintendent of Police, who was part of the investigation team, to contact Mr. Ravi Subramaniam inside the jail and obtain a signed statement retracting his confession.</b> The approver refused to oblige, and the police official had now been kept under suspension, he said.
<b>When the judge wanted to know why the approver did not lodge a complaint, Mr. Duraisamy said that if any complaint were received from him the prosecution would proceed against the official.</b>
<b>Mr. Justice Sivasubramaniam, strongly disapproving of officials of judiciary and police rushing to the Press, said that till date no action had been taken against anybody responsible for leaking a portion of investigation process to the media. To this, the prosecutor said the matter was being investigated.</b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->