A local court in Puducherry on Friday adjourned the hearing in the Sankararaman murder case, in which Kanchi seer Jayendra Saraswathi and his junior Vijayendra Saraswathi are the main accused, to September 27.
Only four of the 24 accused were present and the absentees included the two seers when the case came up before Family court judge T Ramaswamy, who is holding additional charge of the post of Principal District and Sessions Judge following retirement of incumbent D Krishnaraja in May.
The two seers have been charged under IPC sections relating to criminal conspiracy and murder.
Special Public Prosecutor N. Devadoss later told reporters that the hearing in bail application moved by approver Ravi Subramanian, who had turned hostile on January 21, would also come up on September 27.
Ravi Subramanian had contradicted the statements he had made before the court at Chengalpet and also before police.
Sankararaman, manager of Varadarajaperumal temple in Kancheepuram, was allegedly murdered on the premises of the temple on September 3, 2004.
So far 95 witnesses have been examined since commencement of the trial here after the Supreme Court shifted the case from Chengalpattu district court on a petition filed by Jayendra Saraswathi in October 2005. Fifty witnesses have turned hostile.
