The Chennai High Court ordered an interim stay on the single judge’s directive that warrants be issued against investigating officers who failed to appear to testify in criminal cases.
In a petition filed in the Chennai High Court, Rajkamal, a resident of Pazhaverkadu in Tiruvallur district, had sought an order directing action against the kangaroo court members who had ostracized him and his family from the village. Justice Velmurugan, who heard the case, had ordered that the petitioner’s complaint be examined, a case be registered, investigated, and a final report be filed. He had also ordered that protection be provided to the petitioner’s family in 2024.
Rajkamal filed a contempt of court petition, alleging that this order had not been implemented. At that time, the police filed a report stating that the court order had been implemented. Accepting this report, the judge ordered that the contempt of court case be closed. Further, after the charge sheet is filed in a case, the investigating officers in that case do not assist the court proceedings, causing delays in the trial of cases. Therefore, he ordered the lower courts to issue bailable warrants against investigating officers who do not appear in court to give evidence in the case.
An appeal petition was filed on behalf of the Tamil Nadu government against this order. In that petition, it was stated that there was no connection between the contempt of court case and this order. Since no claim had been raised in the contempt of court case that had been closed, it was requested that the order issued by the single judge be stayed and set aside.
This case came up for hearing on Thursday before a bench comprising Chief Justice S.A. Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arulmurugan. The judges hearing the case issued an interim stay on the single judge’s order and adjourned the hearing for 4 weeks.
