HC summons three cops in SICA case

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court (MHC) summoned three police officers who handled a complaint filed by the South Indian Cinematographers Association (SICA) on an accusation of cash embezzlement in the T Nagar station five years ago, criticising the police for their slow investigation of complaints.

After recording the unconditional apology tendered by the general secretary of SICA and actor Ilavarasu for submitting a false statement in the court, Justice AD Jagadish Chandra expressed his displeasure after observing that the police kept the complaint for 5 years without investigation and filed the final report within three days.

The judge wondered what would happen to the normal citizen if the police having this attitude towards investigating most of the cases, and also observed that the cat should be belled. Further, the judge directed the police officials Sivakumar, Ramamoorthy, and Selvarani who handled the SICA complaint when they were inspectors in the Soundarapandiyanar Angadi Police Station, T-Nagar, to appear before the court on February 5 and posted the matter.

Actor Ilavarasu tendered unconditional apology for his incorrect statement against police on a fabricated CCTV footage and submitted before the court that he made the statement out of stress and believing he was at a shooting on December 12.

In 2016, the petitioner Ilavarasu, being the general secretary of the SICA, lodged a complaint against previous office-bearers of the association on the allegation of misappropriation of the association’s fund to the tune of Rs.40 lakh.Subsequently, he filed a petition in MHC seeking to direct the police to complete the investigation.

In March 2023, the MHC directed the T Nagar police to file the investigation report within four months.

Ilavarasu filed a contempt petition in HC against the police stating that the final report was not filed within the stipulated time.