Sanjay Raja case: HC issues summons to Kovai CoP

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Monday summoned the Commissioner of Police, Coimbatore to appear in person and sought an explanation regarding the action of the police inspector who filed an unclear document on the treatment given to Sanjay Raja, who was shot at by Coimbatore city police.

On February 12, 2023, Sanjay Raja and his aides chased a rival gang member Sathyapandi who belongs to Madurai, in full public view, and hacked him to death in Coimbatore. Later, the criminal Sanjay Raja surrendered in a Chennai court and Coimbatore city police took him into custody for interrogation.

During interrogation, Sanjay Raja told police that he had a pistol and bullets at the foothill near Saravanampatti. When the police team took Sanjay Raja to the spot, he was shot at by Coimbatore city police in a retaliatory fire on March 6 after he tried to escape.

Subsequently, Muniratnam, a friend of Sanjay Raja filed a habeas corpus petition in the Madras High Court seeking an order to conduct an investigation into the firing and to provide appropriate treatment given to the accused.

When this plea came up for hearing before Justices M Sundar and M Nirmal Kumar, the counsel who appeared for the Coimbatore city police, informed that the criminal who surrendered in the murder case could not be considered to be in illegal detention as he has been imprisoned and contended that the plaintiff cannot seek details of the treatment and investigation in the habeas corpus petition.

Responding to this, the counsel for the petitioner contended that the accused who was admitted to the Coimbatore government general hospital for treatment was transferred to Cuddalore prison where he is in a bad situation as he was not given appropriate treatment.

Hearing the argument, the bench said that even if the person is accused of a crime, he is still an Indian citizen and he has the fundamental right to get the appropriate treatment.

The bench also said that it was unfortunate that the details of the treatment were not explained in the police’s response. At short notice, the Inspector of Race Course police station, Coimbatore, appeared in the court and filed a two-page unclear copy stating the details of the treatment given to Sanjay Raja.

Vexed with the copy, the division bench expressed its anger with the police inspector who filed such a copy and summoned the Commissioner of Police, Coimbatore to appear in person on March 29.

The court has also directed the police to file a report on the treatment meted out to Sanjay Raja.

The court also allowed Raja’s lawyer to meet him in the Cuddalore prison and adjourned the hearing to March 29.