Swathi murder: Father wants Rs 3 cr compensation from railways

TNN | Nov 7, 2017, 00:03 IST

Chennai: About 16 months after IT employee S Swathi, 24, was murdered on Nungambakkam railway platform, her father K Santhanagopalakrishnan has sought Rs 3 crore compensation from the railway administration. However, he had been made to run from pillar to post till a division bench of Madras high court rapped the court registry and held that the father's plea was fit to be heard by the court.

The matter came up before a division bench of Justice KK Sasidharan and Justice P Velmurugan on Monday, after the high court registry rejected it saying the parent must move only the railways claims tribunal. Since the tribunal was an alternative remedy available to him, he cannot directly moved the high court, it was reasoned.

But the bench headed by Justice Sasidharan was not pleased with the registry — which had overstepped its limits — pointing out that the upper limit for the railway claims tribunal was just Rs 8 lakh and hence it could not hear the case anyway. It censured the registry for returning Santhanagopalakrishnan's petition on the ground of maintainability, and said it had "virtually acted as a court, exercising judicial function.'

The bench said: "The registry has no authority to reject the plea on the ground of availability of alternative remedy. It is for the court to decide whether the petition should be entertained in a matter, inspite of alternative remedy. It is always open to the court to entertain pleas notwithstanding the alternative remedy available to the party. We, therefore, hold that it is not within the province of the registry to return the petition on the ground of alternative remedy."

Noting that the issue in the present case pertains to public law domain, the bench held that as such, the writ petition is maintainable before the high court. "We are therefore of the view that the single judge was not correct in dismissing the petition," they added.

The court then directed the registry to number the writ petition and post the same before appropriate portfolio judge.

Swathi was hacked to July 24, 2016, allegedly by a youth identified as Ramkumar, who hailed from Tirunelveli district. Arrested after intense probe, Ramkumar killed himself inside Puzhal central prison later. Both deaths had triggered big public debate in the state, over the safety of working women and undertrial prisoners in state custody.