Thoothukudi firing: Madras HC says CBI report unreliable, unrealistic; sees ‘hidden agenda’

CHENNAI: Unreliable, unrealistic, and prepared with a “hidden agenda”. The Madras High Court minced no words while flaying the report submitted by the Central Bureau of Investigation on its inquiry into the Thoothukudi firing in which 13 anti-Sterlite protesters were killed by the police on May 22, 2018.

Continuing in the same vein where it stopped during the last hearing, the division bench of Justice SS Sundar and Justice N Senthilkumar on Monday also excoriated the police, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), and the district administration for the commissions and omissions that led to the incident.

The CBI report regarding the police firing was not only unreliable but also unrealistic and had a hidden agenda, the bench said, making clear that it could not digest the fact that the police chased down and shot at unarmed innocent protesters, a one of its kind incident that was unheard of in history.

"We are concerned about the human rights violation that occurred during the firing; such incidents should not recur in the future," it said.

The projected narrative was contrary to what actually happened during the firing, when the police threatened the relatives of the victims under the guise of search operation, observed the bench.

It also came down heavily on the authorities and law enforcement agencies, noting that it seems they were forced and controlled by an industry (Sterlite), that too one that was functioning without the mandatory Consent to Operate and polluting the environment.

As directed by the court in the last hearing, Advocate General (AG) PS Raman submitted the action-taken report of the DVAC in a sealed cover, and requested time to complete the inquiry and file a report regarding the assets of the officials named in the Aruna Jagadeesan commission report and their relatives.

Acceding to the request, the bench granted three months’ time, but stressed that it expected a fair, transparent, and independent report from the DVAC.

The bench also impleaded relatives of some of the victims who were shot dead by the police before posting the matter after two weeks.

The court was hearing the petition moved by human rights activist Henri Tiphagne against the NHRC order dated October 25, 2018, closing the suo motu proceedings it initiated over the police firing.

During the last hearing, the court had asked the DVAC to probe the assets owned by the officials named in the Aruna Jagadeesan panel report, and also their close relatives, two years before and after the firing.