HC judges speak to Revathy

Head constable is a key witness in custodial deaths case

July 03, 2020 01:03 am | Updated 01:04 am IST - TIRUNELVELI

Salem, Tamil Nadu, 24 June 2020: Story by SPS: Condoling the death of father and son in sub-jail at Sattankulam town in Thoothukudi district, mobile shop owners closed their shops and paid tributes to the two in Salem in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday, 24 June 2020. Photo: E.Lakshmi Narayanan / The Hindu

Salem, Tamil Nadu, 24 June 2020: Story by SPS: Condoling the death of father and son in sub-jail at Sattankulam town in Thoothukudi district, mobile shop owners closed their shops and paid tributes to the two in Salem in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday, 24 June 2020. Photo: E.Lakshmi Narayanan / The Hindu

In an unprecedented development, Justices P.N. Prakash and Pugazhenthi on Thursday spoke over phone to head constable S. Revathy, who had testified before the Kovilpatti judicial magistrate, about the custodial torture of trader P. Jayaraj and his son J. Benicks at the Sattankulam police station, and assured her of safety.

Revathy’s testimony was among the key factors that prompted the judges to observe two days ago that there was prima facie material to book the accused police personnel for murder.

“This is unprecedented in the annals of the judiciary. When the judges spoke to her over phone, they showed much concern and assured her that everyone in her family would get utmost protection. What else would a witness need? It is a great gesture that will encourage everyone to come forward to tell the truth to the world about anything happening against the rights of every human being,” said advocate Henry Tiphagne, executive director of People’s Watch, a human rights group.

Ms. Revathy was on duty at the police station on the night of June 19 when the father and son were allegedly tortured by other police personnel.

Earlier, Ms. Revathy had said: “I told the judicial magistrate the truth and what I actually heard and saw. Though I wanted that what I recorded with the judicial magistrate should not be made public, it has appeared in the media. And, I never thought it would create such an insecure situation for me and my family. I feel that my higher-ups should not disturb me for having deposed and my family should get due protection.”

It required a lot of persuasion from various quarters including her children, for her to muster the courage to tell the truth to the magistrate.

It was against this backdrop that the High Court judges spoke to her over phone for about four minutes to instill confidence in her.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.