Five years after former Union Minister and DMK leader M.K. Alagiri was acquitted by a court in Andhra Pradesh in the case relating to murder of former DMK Minister T. Kiruttinan, the State government has authorised the filing of an appeal in the Supreme Court.
A government order dated August 5 said an appeal against the order of the District and Sessions Judge, Chitoor, may be filed before the Supreme Court by filing a special leave petition, along with for an application for condonation of the delay. The Advocate General will appear on behalf of the State in the SLP and “he is permitted to take the assistance of a senior counsel of his choice in the said case.”
A member of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Kiruttinan, or T.Krishnan, was a former member of the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, State Legislative Assembly and a minister for Highways.
He was murdered in 2003 and in the case registered by the police 13 persons were named as accused, which included Mr.Alagiri. The charge sheet was filed on August 18, 2003 and the case taken up for trial in the III Additional Sessions-cum-PCR Court, Madurai.
After a petition of the Madurai police seeking a direction to transfer the case to some other district was dismissed by Madras High Court, the government filed a SLP before the Supreme Court, which issued orders transferring the trial to the District Sessions Court in Chitoor, Andhra Pradesh. The trial ended in the acquittal of all accused.
The Public Prosecutor, Chitoor, on June 13, 2008, opined that since there were insufficient grounds against the accused, it was not possible to prefer any appeal.
The Public Prosecutor, Andhra Pradesh High Court, also said that it was not a fit case to prefer an appeal. His opinion was forwarded to the former Principal Secretary, Tamil Nadu Home Department, sometime in August/September 2012 “who for reasons best known for him, did not act on his matter,” the GO said.
Law officers of the State government have now given a letter to the present Principal Secretary, Home Department, seeking further instructions.
When their report that the State can go an appeal before the Supreme court irrespective of the opinion of Andhra Pradesh public prosecutor was forwarded to Advocate General of Tamil Nadu, he said there were sufficient grounds for filing an appeal.
