Madras High Court cancels bail of 12 accused in Armstrong murder case

Chennai: Madras high court has cancelled the bail granted to 12 accused in the murder case of Bahujan Samaj Party state president K Armstrong, and directed them to surrender before a judicial magistrate court on or before Mar 6.Justice K Rajasekar passed the order while allowing a plea moved by Armstrong's wife, Porkodi, seeking to cancel the bail granted to 14 accused in connection with her husband's murder. Tamil Nadu police also moved a separate petition seeking cancellation of bail granted to the accused in the case.
According to Porkodi, the sessions court granted bail to the accused solely on the grounds that the probe was transferred from the Tamil Nadu police to the CBI. Now, since the Supreme Court stayed the CBI probe, she wanted the court to cancel the bail.Police argued that the release of the accused could hinder the ongoing investigation and potentially influence witnesses. The Sembium police, who are investigating the murder, moved the high court after a lower court granted bail to the suspects.Among those whose bail was cancelled is Aswathaman, the third accused in the FIR. The other 11 accused ordered to surrender are Pradeep, Hariharan, Sathishkumar, Siva, Puthur Appu, Mugilan, Vijayakumar alias Noor, Vignesh, Rajesh, Gopi and Kumara alias Senthilkumar.The legal team representing police presented evidence during the hearing to demonstrate the necessity of continued custodial oversight. The bench, after considering the gravity of the crime and the status of the investigation, concurred with the prosecution's concerns.The accused must report to the court within the stipulated deadline to be remanded to judicial custody.