Justice GR Swaminathan on a batch of petitions filed by four persons – M Paramasivam, P Varatharajan, P Sudalaimuthu, and Yesudhasan of Mudivaithanendal village in Thoothukudi. The petitioners belonged to Scheduled Caste.
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court recently directed the state government to pay compensation to four men who were falsely implicated by police in a double murder case in Thoothukudi in 2013. While three of the men, who were in jail for 92 days, were awarded Rs 6.9 lakh each, the fourth man, who was imprisoned for 53 days was awarded Rs 3.97 lakh.
The order was passed by Justice GR Swaminathan on a batch of petitions filed by four persons – M Paramasivam, P Varatharajan, P Sudalaimuthu, and Yesudhasan of Mudivaithanendal village in Thoothukudi. The petitioners belonged to Scheduled Caste.
According to the petitioners, they had a land dispute with one Karuvelamuthu and the then-inspector of Nazareth police station Selvam had tried to settle the issue in favour of Karuvelamuthu by conducting ‘Katta panchayath’ (Kangaroo court). Since they did not accept the same, inspector Selvam falsely implicated them in the murder of a dominant caste man Antony Pandian and his driver in 2013 and also created a fake eyewitness to support the charges.
Due to this, they were arrested and remanded to judicial custody. Though they were released on bail later, they were discharged from the case only on May 27, 2015 after the jurisdictional DSP found the truth, they added. Seeking compensation for the police torture and loss of liberty, they moved to the high court in 2015.
Hearing the petitions recently, Justice Swaminathan noted that the disciplinary action and criminal prosecution initiated against the inspector got abated after his demise. Regarding the matter of paying compensation, the judge opined that the petitioners were entitled to compensation. Noting that the Supreme Court, while dealing with a similar case which was registered in 2006, had calculated the quantum of compensation at Rs 5,000 per day, Justice Swaminathan observed that it would be justified if the compensation in the present case is fixed at Rs 7,500 per day.
Varatharajan, Sudalaimuthu, and Yesudasan would be entitled to Rs 6,90,000, while Paramasivam would be entitled to Rs 3,97,500, the judge held and directed the Home Secretary and Thoothukudi collector to pay the compensation to them at 6% interest within two months. The petitioners would also be eligible for getting compensation under the SC/ST Act, he added.
