Madras HC adjourns PMK's plea seeking to transfer Kallakurichi hooch tragedy probe to CBI
The petitioner contended that due to the intervention of ministers and politicians of the ruling party the then collector of Kallakurichi suppressed the fact of the initial deaths due to the illicit liquor.
Madras High Court
CHENNAI: The Madras High Court tagged the public interest litigation (PIL) moved by PMK advocate K Balu seeking to transfer the Kallakurichi hooch death investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) along with the petition of AIADMK seeking the same transferral and adjourned the matter.
The first division bench of acting Chief Justice R Mahadevan and Justice Mohammed Shaffiq heard the PIL moved by K Balu, president Advocates’ Forum for Social Justice, seeking to transfer the investigation to CBI or constitute a special investigation team (SIT).
The petitioner contended that due to the intervention of ministers and politicians of the ruling party the then collector of Kallakurichi suppressed the fact of the initial deaths due to the illicit liquor.
On June 19, a day before the hooch death tragedy the then collector Sravan Kumar Jatavath addressed the media and without verification of facts, he denied the initial hooch deaths, submitted the petitioner.
On believing this misinformation more individuals consumed the illicit arrack leading to the cause of tragic deaths the very next day, said the petitioner.
Since the illicit liquor sellers have purchased the raw material to prepare the liquor from the neighboring States Puducherry, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, the police and the one man committee constituted by the government cannot probe into the issue in detail due to lack of jurisdiction, said the petitioner.
Hence the petitioner sought to constitute a special investigation team or transfer the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Advocate General (AG) PS Raman submitted that the State has prepared the status report regarding the actions taken to prevent the sale of illicit arrack and it will be placed on June 26.
After the submission the bench posted the matter on June 26 along with the other petition seeking the same plea by AIADMK.
The petitioner also sought an interim direction to take immediate steps for proper medication by arranging necessary antidotes to the persons admitted in the hospitals at Kallakurichi.