Court orders attachment of city police commissioner’s car

A city civil court has ordered the attachment of the car of Chennai Police Commissioner, for failure of the department to pay compensation to a lawyer whose car was damaged by the police during lathicharge in 2009 on the Madras High Court campus.

P.N.George Graham is an advocate whose car was damaged in the violence on the court premises on February 19, 2009. The plaintiff was locked inside the labour court and was unable to take his vehicle as all the gates were locked by policemen. The next day, when he went to the court campus, he found his car damaged.

Compensation sought

Hence, he filed the suit claiming that the Home Secretary, Director General of Police and the Commissioner of Police were liable to pay damages for monetary loss as well as compensation for mental agony, in 2011.

Last year, IV Assistant City Civil Court decreed the suit in his favour directing the defendants to jointly pay ₹1 lakh with 9% interest from the date of plaint. On an execution petition filed by the plaintiff, X Assistant City Civil Court has ordered the bailiff to attach the City Police Commissioner’s car bearing registration no TN 09 CG 1000 before April 8.

Interestingly, the Commissioner A.K. Viswanathan was involved then in controlling the violence in the Madras High Court in February 2009 in another position.