Chennai: Yuvaraj's plea to transfer trial to another court rejected
The 22-year-old Dalit youth Gokulraj, an engineering college student, was allegedly having relationship with a high caste Hindu girl.
Chennai: Madras high court has dismissed petition filed by Yuvaraj, a prime accused in murder of Dalit youth Gokulraj of Thiruchengode, Namakkal, seeking transfer of murder case trial to any other competent court in other district.
The 22-year-old Dalit youth Gokulraj, an engineering college student, was allegedly having relationship with a high caste Hindu girl. This was opposed by her brother and others from the community. When Gokulraj was talking to the girl at Tiruchengode temple, a group, led by her brother, bundled him in a vehicle and abducted him after sending the girl away from the place. Three days later Gokulraj’s body was found with his head severed on the railway track at Pallipalayam near Tiruchengode in Namakkal district on June 27, 2015.
The incident sent shock wave across the state. CB-CID arrested Yuvaraj, (34) a leader of Dheeran Chinnamalai Gounder Peravai, and others in the murder case. Soon Yuvaraj escaped from the place and remained elusive for over three months. Meanwhile, he released several audio tapes of his speeches to the media claiming his innocence. He went to the extent of giving interviews to Tamil television channels and also took part in a TV debate. In the speeches he alleged the role of senior officers in the suicide of DSP Vishnupriya probing the murder of Gokulraj. Amidst high drama Yuvaraj surrendered at the CB-CID office in Namakkal in October 2015. The cops arrested others accused in the case.
In this writ petition, Yuvaraj has feared that he and other accused will not get justice before principle sessions judge, Namakkal. Hence, he sought transfer of the case to any other competent court in other district.
The government advocate C. Raghavan, appearing for SID,CB-CID, Namakkal, submitted that the Supreme Court had canceled the bail which was granted by the High Court with a direction to the trial court to decide the case as expeditiously as possible in any case not later than 18 months from the date the copy of the order is produced before it. He said Yuvaraj has been abusing the trial court judge and intimidating the trial judge by saying that the trial judge will be put in jail. As regards the co-accused, they were basking under the intimidation by Yuvaraj and were absconding and preventing the trial judge from even framing the charges.
Justice P.N.Prakash said in view of the above, this is not a fit case to transfer the trial, especially, in the light of the directions of the Supreme Court to the trial court to complete the trial within 18 months. Hence, this petition is dismissed, the judge said.