Suo Motu case: Collector informs immolated man not from ST community

CHENNAI: The Kancheepuram district collector on Friday informed the Madras High Court that a 49-year-old man from Padappai who immolated inside the high court premises was not from the section of Scheduled Tribes and he was from the Schedule Caste section.

The collector made this submission through the state Additional Advocate General (AAG) J Ravindran before the first bench comprising Acting Chief Justice T Raja and Justice D Krishnakumar.

The bench has taken suo-motu cognizance of the suicide of the alleged Narikkurava man named Velmurugan who died for the reason that he could not obtain an ST certificate for his son despite running pillar and post of the government offices.

However, AAG rejected the speculations about the background of the man and informed the judges that the deceased was not made to run pillar and post for the community certificate as reported in the media.

“Actually, the man belongs to the Scheduled Caste section. However, he applied for the Scheduled Tribes certificate on September 20. He submitted a community certificate of one Elavarasan claiming the latter as the former’s brother. In such a capacity, he sought an ST certificate for his son. However, during the field survey, it revealed the fact that the man who set ablaze was not from the ST section but an SC man,” the state submitted.

Meanwhile, the judges expressed their dissatisfaction saying that the state’s report did not reveal anything about how they inquired the neighbours and acquaintances of Velmurugan for issuing the certificate.

The ACJ also ordered the district administration of Kancheepuram to appoint the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) to inquire about Velmurugan's friends and neighbors including the school where the deceased son and relatives had studied.

The direction was passed for verifying the communal identity of Velmurugan. After completing the inquiry and the verification works, the bench wanted a report on it within two weeks. The court also directed the government to probe Elavarasan who assisted Velmurugan in getting an ST certificate.

It is noted that after the death of Velmurugan members of the HC bar mentioned before Justice SM Subramaniam to initiate suo-motu proceedings regarding the incident. Therefore, Justice Subramaniam directed the registry to place the matter for suo-motu cognizance before the ACJ.