HC takes up suo motu writ petition to examine circumstances that led to self immolation inside its campus

Judge wants to know why the revenue authorities had denied Narikurava community certificate to the son of the deceased

The Madras High Court on Wednesday took up a suo motu writ petition to examine the circumstances which led to a person immolate himself inside the court campus on Tuesday. The court wanted to know why the revenue authorities had refused to issue a Narikurava community certificate to his son.

Justice S.M. Subramaniam took the decision after advocate A.P. Suryaprakasam and other lawyers brought to his notice that the 49-year-old man, identified as Velmurugan of Padappai in Kancheepuram district, succumbed to the burns at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai on Wednesday.

The reported reason for the person to have taken the extreme step was the denial of community certificate to his son, the lawyers told the judge and added that corruption was pervasive in all departments with the common people being made to run from pillar-to-post even to obtain community certificates.

After recording their submissions, the judge wrote that the court should necessarily examine whether the right of the deceased as well as his son to obtain a community certificate had been infringed or not. He also stated that the court could not leave the issue unnoticed since it would lead to serious repercussions.

The judge impleaded the Commissioner of Revenue Administration and Kancheepuram Collector as respondents to the suo motu writ petition and directed the Registry to place the papers before Acting Chief Justice T. Raja for listing the case before the appropriate Bench.

(Assistance for those having suicidal thoughts is available on the State’s health helpline 104 and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050).