Madras High Court rejects plea to defer Jayalalithaa's annual day on December 5

Chennai: The Madras high court has dismissed a public interest litigation, which sought to forbear the state government from observing officially the annual day of demise of former Chief Minister J.  Jayalalithaa on December 5 till the Justice A. Arumugasamy Commission of Inquiry declared the official date of death after availing the scientific proof from finger prints forensic experts.

The First Bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice R. Hemalatha dismissed the PIL filed by advocate R. Kumaravel.

The bench said this petition purportedly filed by way of the PIL, disputes the date of death of the former Chief Minister of TN J. Jayalalithaa. With greatest respect, the writ court cannot adjudicate disputes with regard to the dates of death of any person. 

As stated in the affidavit, the government has appointed a Commission of Inquiry headed by a retired judge of this court for the purpose of making an independent inquiry into the demise of late Chief Minister. 

The Commission of Inquiry would obviously inquire into the cause of death as well as the date of death. Should it be possible at this stage to do so? the bench added.

 The bench said as of now, there was a death certifica-te issued by a reputed specialty hospital namely Apollo hospital, which shows that the then CM died on December 5, 2016. 

Observance of death anniversary of a Chief Minister on the basis of the date of death as recorded in the death certificate issued by hospital authorities does not call for interference of this court. 

This court cannot decide disputes as to whether letters said to have been written by the late Chief Minister were actually written by her or not.  

This court neither has the expertise nor the experience to determine the death on the basis of a thumb impression, which might have been obtained. There was no public interest in the order sought for in the petition. 

It was reiterated, that a Commission of Inquiry has been appointed, however, the inquiry has not, as of yet given any finding of either the death certificate not being correct or any other causes of the death of the late Chief Minister with that of what has transpired from the medical bulletins and reports issued by the hospital authorities, the bench added and dismissed the PIL.