In the murder case of K. Armstrong, who had served as the state president of the Tamil Nadu Bahujan Samaj Party, the Supreme Court has issued important guidelines in the hearing on the CBI’s plea seeking to cancel the bail of the accused who have been released on bail and to remand them back into custody. The case came up for hearing today before a bench comprising Justices K.V. Viswanathan and Arun Palli.
Sharp arguments from the CBI and the accused side:
“We have filed a status report in court regarding the investigation of the case. We need another 3 months to complete the investigation fully and file the final report. The accused persons who are currently out on bail remaining outside would hinder a free and fair investigation. Since there is a possibility of intimidating witnesses and tampering with evidence, their bail should be canceled and they should be remanded back into judicial custody,” the CBI lawyer argued.
The lawyers appearing on behalf of the accused strongly opposed the CBI’s request. “What the CBI says is only a general allegation. In every case, they keep making the same allegations: ‘the accused are influential and will intimidate witnesses.’
The court should not accept accusations made merely on the basis of speculation, without any evidence that there was an attempt to tamper with witnesses or testimony. Since the accused persons are ready to fully cooperate with the investigation, there is no need to send them back to prison," they argued.
Request from the Tamil Nadu government side:
Appearing on behalf of the Tamil Nadu government, lawyer P. Karunakaran requested the court to "drop the contempt of court case filed against Tamil Nadu government officials in connection with this case."
After hearing arguments from both sides, the bench of judges issued the following orders:
``The CBI must file a detailed fresh report on the current status of the investigation into the Armstrong murder case before the Supreme Court within 2 weeks. All parties (the petitioner and the respondents) must file their response petitions within the next 2 weeks after the fresh status report is filed by the CBI.
The interim stay already imposed by the Supreme Court on the cancellation of the bail of those accused by the Madras High Court will continue to remain in force (therefore, the accused can remain out for now). The next hearing in this case is adjourned to November 3. On that day, all the petitions filed unnecessarily in this matter will be closed," the judges clarified.
In the status report filed by the CBI yesterday earlier, “Several of the key accused involved in the murder case of the prominent Dalit leader Armstrong are highly influential. If they are out, there is a strong possibility that they may intimidate witnesses, destroy evidence, and go into hiding to evade the clutches of the law.
In the investigation by the state police, it has been confirmed that they were involved in the criminal conspiracy, procured and smuggled weapons including country-made bombs, provided financial assistance, and directly participated in the Armstrong murder. In this case, to ensure a free and fair investigation is completed swiftly without any pressure, the CBI has requested that the bail order granted by the principal sessions court and later canceled by the Madras High Court be upheld, and that the accused be taken back into custody."