Principal District and Sessions Court Judge R. Poornima on Thursday adjourned the temple pujari suicide case till July 28 and advised the complainant, A. Subburaj, to help the court conduct trial speedily.
In the last session, she had advised the complainant to arrange a new Public Prosecutor to conduct the trial as Special Public Prosecutor B. Mohan resigned from his post last month citing poor cooperation from police.
When Mr. Subburaj, who appeared before the court this morning, informed the court that he went on appeal in higher courts for shifting the case to some other State, the judge replied that the district administration had already sent a letter to the government to depute a Public Prosecutor to conduct trial in this case.
She recalled that the complainant had wanted to complete the trial quickly. Later, the judge adjourned the case.
All the accused, including prime accused O. Raja, brother of Finance Minister O. Paneerselvam, were present in the court. However, police witnesses did not turn up.
Theni Principal District and Sessions Court had transferred the case to Dindigul District Court on November 25 last year. The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court had directed the Dindigul court to complete the case within four months.
The case pertains to the suicide of S. Nagamuthu (22) of T. Kallupatti village, a Dalit, who worked as pujari in Sri Kailasanathar Hill Temple in Periyakulam, on December 8, 2012, after he was allegedly subjected to harassment.
