Index Page                                Archives

Sakaracharya trial case goes to Pondicherry court
by Priya

     New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday transferred the Sankararaman murder case to the Pondicherry court from the Madras High Court in which the Sankaracharya of Kanchipuram, Sri Jayendra Saraswati, is a prime accused. A two-judge bench of the apex court comprising Chief Justice RC Lahoti and Justice GP Mathur pronounced the order Earlier on October 20, the Supreme Court had opted to reserve its verdict on the petition by the Kanchi Sankaracharya Sri Jayendra Saraswati. The Tamil Nadu government provided the details about the functioning of the courts in the state as the chargesheet in the case was filed on a holiday Sankararaman's widow has opposed the petition seeking transfer of the case outside Tamil Nadu Her counsel had said since there were 375 witnesses in the case and documents were in Tamil, the case could not be shifted to any other state to meet the convenience of some of the accused. Sri Jayendra Saraswathi was arrested on November 11, 2004 for his alleged involvement in the murder of a Kanchipuram temple official, A Sankararaman. After exactly two months in jail and unsuccessful attempts before the Madras High Court, the Kanchi seer was released on bail on January 10 by the Supreme Court, which castigated the Tamil Nadu police for having gathered "no evidence or material" against the Sankaracharya in the case. The VHP and other groups had then come out in support of the Kanchi Sankaracharya and demanded his quick release.