Tamil Nadu News: Kancheepuram Court Sends DSP To Judicial Custody For Failing To Act In SC/ST Case

Chennai: On September 8, high drama had unfolded at the premises of the Kancheepuram Principal District and Sessions Court. The presiding judge Pa U Chemmal had made heads turn by ordering that Deputy Superintendent of Police be remanded in judicial custody for not taking action in a case registered under the Scheduled Caste / Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The police had no choice but to follow the judge’s orders.

The case was that a customer, who belonged to the Scheduled Caste, had purchased a cake from a bakery, which turned out to be stale. When the customer complained about this, the bakery owner and his son-in-law Lokeshwaran, who worked as in the police force, allegedly beat him. So a case was ordered to be registered under the SC/ST Act. When the accused was not arrested, the judge ordered the arrest of the DSP as per the provisions of the SC/ST Act.

Judge Chemmal’s action was seen as perfect way to deal with the police for inaction.

However, a day later, the case took a dramatic turn, when the Kancheepuram Police knocked the doors of the Madras High Court complaining that Chemmal had acted with mala fide intentions to get even with his former Personal Security Officer (PSO) Lokeshwaran, with whom he had a personal grudge. The bakery was owned by the former PSO’s father-in-law. Taken aback by the allegation, Justice N Sathish Kumar not only set aside the order remanding the DSP, but also directed the High Court Registrar (Vigilance) Jacintha Martin to thoroughly inquire into the allegations against the Kancheepuram judge.

On Tuesday, the inquiry officer submitted that it found evidence that Chemmal had acted against the DSP due to a personal dispute with his ex-PSO.

Justice Kumar then directed the High Court Registry to place the inquiry report before the Vigilance Committee of the High Court for appropriate action. Besides, he instructed the inquiry report be placed before the Transfer Committee to take immediate action against Chemmal as it would not be conducive to let the judicial officer continue in Kancheepuram.

During the hearing, the Additional Public Prosecutor brought another fact before the court - the Kancheepuram judge had even forced a Food Safety Officer (FSO) to raid the bakery. “The FSO appeared before the Registrar (Vigilance) and recorded his statement,” he said. The inquiry report also substantiated allegations levelled by the police against the Chemmal such as taking coercive action against a local pharmacy, which refused to dispense medicines without a prescription issued by a registered medical practitioner.