HC refuses to make lawyer party in Kanchi tape hearing

CHENNAI: The Madras high court has declined to implead an advocate, Thiru Murugan, in the proceedings relating to the alleged telephonic conversation between Kanchi Sankaracharya Jayendra Saraswathi and the judge hearing the Sankararaman murder case.
Justice K Suguna, before whom a writ petition filed by P Sundararajan came up for hearing on Thursday, however, admitted the implead petition of Kanchi mutt manager N Sundaresa Iyer, who is also a co-accused in the murder case.The judge has adjourned the matter to September 22 for counter.
Earlier, Justice Suguna rejected the implead petition of Thiru Murugan saying he was neither a necessary party nor proper party to the proceedings.
The matter relates to the writ petition of Sundararajan, who alleged that a taped telephone conversation between Jayendra Saraswathi and the trial judge, T Ramasamy, had been doing the rounds. Claiming that it was a blatant attempt by the seer to scuttle the trial, his counsel Manikandan Vathan Chettiar had sought retrial in the matter. The court has already stayed the trial until further orders.
Sankararaman, manager of the Varadaraja Perumal Temple in Kancheepuram, was murdered on the temple premises on September 3, 2004. Jayendra Saraswathi and his junior Vijayendra Saraswathi were arrested in connection with the case. The trial, transferred out of Tamil Nadu by an order of the Supreme Court, is being held at the Puducherry Sessions Court. Most of the witnesses, including the wife of the deceased Sankararaman, have turned hostile during the trial.
Advocate Sundararajan filed the writ petition for retrial of the proceedings citing three taped telephone conversations, allegedly involving the acharya, the trial judge and two other women.
Meanwhile, the vigilance cell of the high court has commenced inquiry into the allegations, and the designated official has already recorded the statements of advocates S Duraisamy and V Elangovan, who were the first ones to bring the alleged telephonic conversation to the knowledge of the higher judiciary. Sundararajan has also been invited to come and depose before the inquiry officer. The district judge concerned would be called for inquiry only after completion of recording of statements of the complainants, sources said.