MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday issued notice to the State government on a petition filed by a woman seeking Rs 25 lakh compensation for the death of her son, who died allegedly by suicide due to police torture.
M Rengammal of BB Kulam in Madurai said her son Easwaran, a carpenter, was detained by Tallakulam police in January this year, on false charges that he and friend were illegally selling liquor. The police abused and threatened him, after which he set himself ablaze near an Ambedkar statue next to the Tallakulam police station.
Before Easwaran succumbed to burns, his dying declaration was recorded by the Judicial Magistrate IV of Madurai and based on the same, the high court earlier allowed a petition filed by Rengammal seeking CB-CID investigation into Easwaran’s death.
Rengammal again approached the HC seeking the compensation and action against the police officials responsible for her son’s death. Justice V Sivagnanam issued notice to the authorities concerned and adjourned the case for a month.
Order for alienating temple land quashed
Chennai: The Madras High Court on Tuesday quashed an order of the HR&CE department for alienating one acre belonging to the Kariyamanika Perumal temple in Erode for public purposes. The first bench passed the order to quash the HR&CE order after it found that due process had not been followed in alienating the temple land. Meanwhile, the same bench flayed HR&CE officials for failing to remove encroachments on land belonging to the Kalatheeswarar temple in Thiruvallur. When the counsel for HR&CE department told the bench that 1,100 acres of temple land was retrieved recently, the bench questioned what the department was doing all these years. ENS