HC orders sacked govt employee to undergo mental evaluation

TRIED TO BRIBE CJ OF MADRAS HC

HC orders sacked govt employee to undergo mental evaluation

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:19.05.2021

A special court for corruption cases has directed a former government servant to undergo medical check-up at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), Kilpauk after he claimed he was suffering from mental illness. He is facing a case of attempting to bribe high court judges.

“The expert shall examine the accused and take all necessary tests as per medical jurisprudence and submit a report whether the accused can understand court proceedings and capable of making defence. The accused shall co-operate with the medical expert, failing which adverse inference will be drawn against him,” said special judge J Omprakash.

The accused, after being terminated from service, had appealed twice before the high court and after both appeals were dismissed, he wrote to the chief justice of Madras high court seeking a job and enclosed ₹10,000 for a ‘favourable order’.

Based on a complaint from the registrar of the high court, an FIR was registered by the Central Crime Branch and he was arrested.

Police filed the final report and the special court had taken cognizance of the report on November 11, 2020.

When the case came up for trial, the accused appeared before the court and raised various grounds to discharge him from the case. He said he was suffering from mental illness between 2012 and 2014 and that he continued psychiatric treatment for the illness till date.

The court noted from his medical records which stated that the accused was suffering from recurrent depressive disorder and took treatment at Tiruvannamalai medical college from December 2020 until March 2021.

After perusing the submissions, special judge passed an interim order directing the accused to appear before the director of IMH for mental evaluation.