Contending that the atmosphere in the Madras High Court was not conducive for conducting proceedings on writ petitions filed by the three convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, the G.K. Moopanar Peravai has moved the Supreme Court for transferring the petitions to itself or to some other High Court for further adjudication.
L.K. Venkat, president of the Peravai, affiliated to the Congress, who has filed this petition through advocates V.N. Raghupathy and S. Nandakumar, said acting on the writ petitions filed by Santhan, Murugan and Perarivalan, the High Court had stayed their execution scheduled for September 9. On August 30, when the matter was heard in the High Court, over 5,000 supporters gathered in and outside the court campus and interfered with the judicial function and disturbed the proceedings.
The petitioner said the mob, which gathered inside the court hall, raised slogans in support of the three convicts. This was unethical and improper, especially in the court. Judges who heard the matter were helpless on the attitude of the people inside the hall. In the Madurai Bench, a mob even closed the gate. Various leaders were supporting the convicts, so there was a possibility of undue influence to interfere with the judicial function.
The petitioner said that to ensure fair and free justice, the writ petitions should be transferred to the Supreme Court or to any other High Court having competent jurisdiction.
