‘Let magistrate decide on re-postmortem in custodial death case’

‘Let magistrate decide on re-postmortem in custodial death case’

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:  19.11.2020

The Madras high court has refused to order repostmortem of Selvamurugan who allegedly died of police torture in Cuddalore.

Selvamurugan was arrested by the Neyveli Township police on October 28 in connection with a theft and was remanded in Vriddhachalam sub-jail.

Justice T Ravichandran, instead, directed the jurisdictional magistrate to consider the representation for re-postmortem and dispose of the same.

The court passed the order while disposing of the plea moved by S Preme, wife of the deceased. She alleged that her husband, 40, who was an undertrial prisoner, died because of police torture.

State public prosecutor A Natarajan filed a counter affidavit on behalf of additional superintendent of police, Neyveli and submitted that the deceased was arrested in connection with a chain snatching case. “He was caught red-handed by public. The petitioner’s husband is a habitual offender,” he said. The petitioner’s husband has a history of epilepsy. On November 4 he suffered a seizure in the prison and was taken to the government hospital, Virudhachalam. After treatment the petitioner’s husband died in the hospital, the prosecutor said.

He died while in judicial custody, not in police custody, he added. He said the judicial magistrate-I, Virudhachalam has conducted inquest in presence of the petitioner and relatives. The postmortem was conducted in presence of the magistrate. It was conducted as per the guidelines issued by the National Human Rights Commission and video graphed, the prosecutor said.

Therefore, there is absolutely no ground for ordering re-post mortem, he added.