03-24-2005, 10:46 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Pace slackens in Sankararaman murder case
By V. Jayanth
CHENNAI, MARCH 21. After proceeding on the fast track for a couple of months, the Sankararaman murder case has virtually come to a standstill. Now that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) has filed the charge sheet before the Kancheepuram court, the judicial process has begun and the matter is before the court. <b>Twice all the accused have turned up in the court to receive the charge sheet, but the copies are not ready to be handed over to them.</b>
Besides, defence counsel have asked for time to cross-examine the accused-turned-approver, Ravi Subramaniam, before the Sankararaman murder case is committed to the sessions. The case has been posted for March 24 and enquiries reveal that the charge sheet may not be served on the accused even on that day.
According to the lawyers arguing the case, the court is trying to get the copies made so that they can be served on the accused. "In this case, we have a charge sheet running into over 1,700 pages and there are 24 accused. The police have themselves made copies of the charge sheet, but we are told the court has not accepted this. The court wants to have it done under its supervision and considering the volume of work involved, this will take time," a senior lawyer explains.
As things stand, the Magistrate will first have to provide the defence lawyers an opportunity to cross-examine Mr. Ravi Subramaniam, and then commit the case to the sessions. Simultaneously, the process of serving copies of the charge sheet to the accused will also be completed. All this requires some time.
Asked if the case was losing steam, police sources connected with the investigation say "We have done our job. The charge sheet has been filed well in time. Our part of the job is over. It is now for the court to take up trial and deliver a verdict. We believe there is a strong case and the prosecution will pick up the threads from where we have left it."
But in the public eye, there is hardly anything happening. The speed with which the investigations proceeded after the arrest of the Kanchi Sankaracharya, Sri Jayendra Saraswathi, was arrested in Mehbubnagar near Hyderabad, on November 11, 2004, gave an altogether different impression. But the subsequent developments on the legal front, have taken the wind out of the sails.
Unperturbed by the delay, the SIT is proceeding with the investigations in some of the related cases. The work on the Radhakrishnan assault case has been wrapped up, but the alleged attack on Thirukottiyur Madhavan's case has got bogged down because one of the main suspects has eluded the police dragnet.
A battery of auditors are wading through the various accounts of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam and trusts linked to it. <b>But enquiries show that it was so complex that it may be difficult to take it to its logical conclusion</b>. <!--emo&:blink:--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/blink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='blink.gif' /><!--endemo-->
The SIT is hoping that when the charge sheet is finally served and the trial begins, it can provide an impetus to the other cases.
http://www.hindu.com/2005/03/22/stories/...460400.htm <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
By V. Jayanth
CHENNAI, MARCH 21. After proceeding on the fast track for a couple of months, the Sankararaman murder case has virtually come to a standstill. Now that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) has filed the charge sheet before the Kancheepuram court, the judicial process has begun and the matter is before the court. <b>Twice all the accused have turned up in the court to receive the charge sheet, but the copies are not ready to be handed over to them.</b>
Besides, defence counsel have asked for time to cross-examine the accused-turned-approver, Ravi Subramaniam, before the Sankararaman murder case is committed to the sessions. The case has been posted for March 24 and enquiries reveal that the charge sheet may not be served on the accused even on that day.
According to the lawyers arguing the case, the court is trying to get the copies made so that they can be served on the accused. "In this case, we have a charge sheet running into over 1,700 pages and there are 24 accused. The police have themselves made copies of the charge sheet, but we are told the court has not accepted this. The court wants to have it done under its supervision and considering the volume of work involved, this will take time," a senior lawyer explains.
As things stand, the Magistrate will first have to provide the defence lawyers an opportunity to cross-examine Mr. Ravi Subramaniam, and then commit the case to the sessions. Simultaneously, the process of serving copies of the charge sheet to the accused will also be completed. All this requires some time.
Asked if the case was losing steam, police sources connected with the investigation say "We have done our job. The charge sheet has been filed well in time. Our part of the job is over. It is now for the court to take up trial and deliver a verdict. We believe there is a strong case and the prosecution will pick up the threads from where we have left it."
But in the public eye, there is hardly anything happening. The speed with which the investigations proceeded after the arrest of the Kanchi Sankaracharya, Sri Jayendra Saraswathi, was arrested in Mehbubnagar near Hyderabad, on November 11, 2004, gave an altogether different impression. But the subsequent developments on the legal front, have taken the wind out of the sails.
Unperturbed by the delay, the SIT is proceeding with the investigations in some of the related cases. The work on the Radhakrishnan assault case has been wrapped up, but the alleged attack on Thirukottiyur Madhavan's case has got bogged down because one of the main suspects has eluded the police dragnet.
A battery of auditors are wading through the various accounts of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam and trusts linked to it. <b>But enquiries show that it was so complex that it may be difficult to take it to its logical conclusion</b>. <!--emo&:blink:--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/blink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='blink.gif' /><!--endemo-->
The SIT is hoping that when the charge sheet is finally served and the trial begins, it can provide an impetus to the other cases.
http://www.hindu.com/2005/03/22/stories/...460400.htm <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->