Gokulraj murder case | Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court initiates contempt proceedings against hostile witness Swathi
The Hindu
The Bench noted that during examination, Swathi repeatedly evaded making a true statement or was denying certain obvious facts
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, in a rare decision on Wednesday, initiated contempt proceedings against Swathi, the “star witness” in the sensational Gokulraj murder case.
Swathi, who had turned hostile during trial, has continued to maintain her stand before the higher judiciary in the case related to murder of Dalit youth V. Gokulraj in 2015.
A Division Bench of Justices M.S. Ramesh and N. Anand Venkatesh, which is hearing a batch of appeals against the trial court judgment, observed that the court was prima facie satisfied that Swathi in facie curiae (before the court) had made a false statement on oath and thereby she had interfered in the administration of justice.
“We are inclined to initiate contempt proceedings against PW4 (Swathi),” they observed.
The court ordered notice to Swathi and sought an explanation. It said she could take legal assistance to defend herself.
The Bench noted that during examination, Swathi repeatedly evaded making a true statement or was denying certain obvious facts. [According to the prosecution, Swathi had accompanied Gokulraj to a temple on the fateful day before he was accosted, taken away and killed.]
“While recording the statement of PW4, we had specifically recorded the demeanour of PW4,” the judges said.
The Madras High Court on Tuesday, June 11, 2024, rejected a plea by former special Director General of Police (DGP) Rajesh Das to restore the electricity service connection to a bungalow in Thaiyur near Kelambakkam in Chengalpattu district, and to restrain Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) officials from disturbing the power supply in future.