Jayalalithaa death: Madras HC to hear plea challenging inquiry commission today

Chennai: The Madras High Court will hear on Wednesday a petition challenging the commission of inquiry set up by the Tamil Nadu government to probe the death of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa.

The first bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice M Sunder said on Tuesday they would hear the matter when senior counsel K M Vijayan made a special mention for taking up the PIL filed by an AIADMK member.

The state government had on September 25 appointed retired high court judge A Arumugasamy as the one-man commission of inquiry to look into the circumstances leading to Jayalalithaa’s hospitalisation in September last and the subsequent treatment.

Petitioner P A Joseph contended that the inquiry commission had been set up without complying with mandatory requirements under Section 3 of the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952. While the Act required that the commission could be set up only after obtaining the opinion of the government and the Assembly passing a resolution clearing such appointment, only the first requirement was met and there was no Assembly resolution, the petitioner said.

He said the government had earlier maintained that “all was well” with Jayalalithaa’s treatment but now did a ‘U’ turn in appointing probe commission by admitting “all was not well”. Besides, the ruling party MLAs and MPs in their public meetings “mocked at the people” by making contradictory speeches about the hospitalisation, with a minister even apologising for making wrong statements on the ex-CM’s treatment. All this only proved the need to hand over the probe to an independent inquiry, which he had sought in an earlier petition, Joseph said.

Also, he argued that since the entire state machinery was involved in Jayalalithaa’s hospitalisation and treatment till her death on December 5 last year, there would be ‘bias’ and possibly ‘influence and pressure’ if a commission set up by the state government is involved.  “It would only be proper that the Central government step in and constitute an independent inquiry commission as I had prayed in an earlier writ petition”, Joseph contended, while seeking court’s direction declaring the GO appointing Justice Arumugaswamy as illegal, malafide and against the provisions of the Commission of Inquiry Act. 

Petition seeking info on Jaya’s death dismissed
The Madras high court dismissed a petition seeking constitution of judicial commission to find out exact cause of death of former CM J.Jayalalithaa following 75 days of treatment.

When a petition filed by P.Muruganandham, Kodavasal taluk, Thiruvarur district came up for hearing before the first bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and M. Sunder the bench  refused to pass orders restraining the minister from issuing statements relating to hospitalisation and death of Jayalalithaa.