Rajiv Gandhi case convict Santhan’s death | Madras High Court calls for his medical records

Madras High Court questions delay in allowing Rajiv Gandhi case convict to go to Sri Lanka.

The Madras High Court on Thursday, February 29, 2024, wanted to know why former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi assassination case convict Santhan alias T. Suthenthirarajah was not allowed to go to Sri Lanka between February 22, when a deportation order was passed by the Centre, and February 28 when he breathed his last at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai.

Justices R. Sureshkumar and K. Kumaresh Babu directed Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) R. Muniyapparaj to produce by Thursday afternoon, all of the medical records of the convict to find out if he was so unwell as to not be allowed to fly to his home country. The direction was issued on a writ petition which Santhan had filed last year, seeking permission to go to Sri Lanka to attend to his ailing mother.

The writ petition was filed through his counsel M. Radhakrishnan and P. Pugalendhi, after the Supreme Court had ordered his premature release from prison. However, since he was subsequently lodged in a foreigners detention camp in Tiruchi for want of travel documents to go to Sri Lanka, he sought a direction to the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO) to release him from the camp.

The FRRO, under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, in turn, told the court that he had written to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to obtain the travel documents from the Sri Lankan Deputy High Commission in Chennai. Finally, it was brought to the notice of the court that the MEA sent a communication to the Deputy High Commission on November 29, 2023 for issuance of the travel document.

The request was accepted and a travel document was issued to the Sri Lankan national on February 1, 2024. It was also communicated to the State government on February 2, 2024. However, when the writ petition was heard on February 13, 2024, Additional Solicitor General AR.L. Sundaresan sought time to verify this and get back as to when an exit permit would be issued by the FRRO.

Accordingly, when the case was listed again on Thursday, the ASG told the court that the deportation order was issued on February 22, 2024. However, unfortunately, the petitioner who was admitted at the government hospital in Chennai due to certain ailments had died on February 28, 2024. After perusing the records, the judges wanted to know why there was a delay since February 22.

The APP replied it was because of the ill health of the petitioner. Wanting to know whether he was so unwell as to not be able to fly to Sri Lanka immediately after the issuance of the exit permit, the judges directed the APP to produce his medical records by afternoon.