Melavalavu massacre case | Madurai Bench of Madras High Court reserves orders

The 13 men convicted of hacking to death six members of the Scheduled Caste in 1997, including the Melavalavu panchayat president Murugesan, were released prematurely in 2019 in view of MGR centenary celebrations

Viduthalai Kalam - memorial for Melavalavu victims at Melavalavu village near Melur in Madurai district. Representational image. File | Photo Credit: MOORTHY G

Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday reserved orders on a batch of petitions filed in 2019 that had challenged the premature release of the 13 life convicts in the Melavalavu massacre case.

A Division Bench of Justices G. Jayachandran and Sunder Mohan reserved orders on the petitions challenging the release of the 13 convicts. Advocate P. Rathinam, family members of the victims and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi had filed the petitions in 2019.

The 13 convicts in the Melavalavu massacre case belonging to an intermediate caste were released in 2019 in connection with MGR centenary celebrations.

They were convicted of hacking to death six members of the Scheduled Caste in 1997, including the Melavalavu panchayat president Murugesan.