Refusing to quash criminal proceedings pending against a quack who claimed to possess “divine powers”, the Madras High Court directed the police to conduct investigation into the cases expeditiously.
Justice P.N. Prakash, who dismissed a batch of pleas moved by Vijaykumar, a Siddha doctor, held that “returning the cheated money to the complainants will not absolve the guilt of the person accused of cheating.”
The case of the prosecution was that Vijayakumar, appeared in a television programme and claimed that he possessed extraordinary powers, including mystical powers, to cure all diseases.
Swayed by his words, the complainants approached him and had paid huge sums of money demanded by him for curing their ailments. In one of the cases, his daughter and son-in- law joined him in fleecing those who came for treatment. When the victims realised that they were being taken for a ride, an FIR was registered and Vijayakumar was arrested.
When the news of Vijayakumar’s arrest was flashed in the media, complaints started pouring in from various quarters and the police had to register individual FIRs.
When the pleas came up for hearing, the petitioner’s counsel submitted that in two cases registered in 2009, the petitioner had returned the money to the complainants and hence, the prosecution against him and the co-accused must be quashed.
Refusing to accept the contention, the judge said, “In the considered opinion of this court, return of money cannot efface the offence of fraud and cheating committed by quacks.”
Relying on the judgments of the Supreme Court that persons not registered with the Medical Council could not be allowed to practise allopathy, the judge held that the petitions are liable to be dismissed.
‘Returning money to the complainants will not absolve the guilt of the person accused of cheating’
