The Communist Party of India (Marxist) filed a petition before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday asking it to set aside the Justice Aruna Jagadeesan Commission and transfer the investigation into the Thoothukudi firing from CB-CID to CBI.
K.S.Arjunan, district secretary of the CPI (M) Thoothukudi, claimed that the Commission of Inquiry had called people with direct acquaintance with the incident to depose before the commission. It would not be feasible for victims to travel to Chennai to depose before the commission.
The commission was not set up as per the provisions of the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952, he said.
On the impact of Sterlite Copper in the region, he said that the public had expressed concern over hazardous effluents let out by the plant. However, on May 22 the protests took a violent turn after the police started shooting at the protesters indiscriminately resulting in death of 13 protesters including a minor girl. He said that the CB-CID investigation is just an eyewash and sought transfer of the case to the CBI. Taking up the plea for hearing, a Division Bench of Justices C.T.Selvam and A.M.Basheer Ahamed adjourned the case with the principal seat seized of the matter.
