The Madras High Court on Thursday allowed an appeal seeking fresh post-mortem examination on Saranya’s body — one among the three girl students of SVS Medical College of Yoga and Naturopathy who allegedly committed suicide.
Allowing an appeal moved by father of Saranya, a Division Bench of Justices Satish K. Agnihotri and M. Venugopal wondered why the State government is against a fresh autopsy.
On Tuesday, a single judge of the high court dismissed the plea observing that unless the petitioner has proved that there was a defect in conducting a post-mortem examination or a procedural violation, plea for a fresh autopsy cannot be entertained.
Assailing the order, Elumalai moved an appeal before the Division Bench. In his petition he submitted that he has suspicion over the death of his daughter and sought a fresh post-mortem examination to be conducted in the Kilpauk Government Hospital, in the presence of a doctor of his choice. Mr. Elumalai also wanted the court to direct the authorities concerned to exhume his daughter’s body which has been buried after the first autopsy.
He alleged that though he made a complaint on January 24 requesting the district administration to conduct the autopsy in any of the government hospitals in Chennai, the authorities intimidated him to accept the post-mortem examination conducted in the Villupuram Government College.
“When I refused to budge, they threw my daughter’s body out of the freezer box from the autopsy room and forcefully obtained consent from me,” the petitioner said. He also said that he has no faith in the autopsy conducted by the district administration in Villupuram.