Madras High Court seeks status report on Sathankulam case trial

The Madurai bench of Madras High Court on Monday sought to know the progress in the prosecution of a case by a trial court in the alleged custodial deaths of father-son duo of Sathankulam, Thoothukudi district.

Jeyaraj and his son J. Bennix died in June last year allegedly due to torture by the Sathankulam police and ten police personnel, including the then Inspector Sridhar, were arrested in this connection.

Selvarani, the wife of Jeyaraj, the deceased, filed a petition before the High Court to expedite the trial and arrest those involved in the crime. The High Court in March this year directed the lower court in Madurai to conduct a fair trial and complete it within six months.

Meanwhile, counsel on behalf of the trial court sought additional time to complete the prosecution citing Covid restrictions.

Justice K. Murali Shankar, after hearing the arguments, sought to know the status of the case and directed the Additional District and Sessions Court, Madurai to file a counter-affidavit. The case was adjourned to December 17.