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‘Don’t you trust high court’: SC refuses to stall 2nd autopsy of Tamil Nadu girl
The three-judge bench of the Supreme Court refused to pass any order on the father’s plea to pause the second autopsy of the 17-year-old girl in Tamil Nadu, saying the Madras high court was already monitoring the case
A team of doctors on Tuesday conducted the second postmortem examination of a 17-year-old girl, who was found dead in her school hostel on July 13, at the Kallakurichi government hospital after the Supreme Court refused to stall the procedure.
A team of doctors— Dr Geethanjali, Dr Juliana Jayanthi and Dr Gokularaman, from government hospitals in Villupuram, Trichy and Salem, conducted the second autopsy on the girl’s body amid heavy police presence outside the Kallakurichi government hospital. The procedure was also videographed.
The Class 12 student’s father had mentioned his appeal against the Madras high court order, requesting the three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana to stay the second autopsy for the time being.
The father complained that his request for the inclusion of a doctor of his choice in the second autopsy was turned down by the high court.
“The second post-mortem is expected to be conducted today. I have filed a special leave petition against the high court order. Please, stay the high court order on post-mortem,” the lawyer, representing the father, urged the court.
But the bench, which also included justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli, asked why the Supreme Court should intervene when the high court is already monitoring the matter.
“Don’t you trust the high court? Why should we say anything? The high court is already monitoring it. We won’t pass any order,” the bench said.
The student was suspected to have jumped from the third floor of the hostel of the private residential school in Kallakurichi district, about 250km from state capital Chennai, on July 13. But her family have alleged foul play.
In a video on Sunday, her mother said a purported suicide note, which accuses two teachers of harassment, was planted and not in her daughter’s handwriting.
On the same day, a mob of about 2,000 people stormed the premises of the private residential school and set fire to school buses and vans and damaged school property. Protesters also pelted stones at police personnel. Fifty-two policemen were injured, including Kallakurichi’s superintendent of police S Selvakumar and deputy inspector general of police M Pandian. Police fired teargas to disperse the mob.
A post-mortem conducted on July 14 said the girl appeared to have died of haemorrhage and shock due to multiple injuries. At her father’s request who alleged foul play, the high court on Monday directed a second autopsy on the student.
Justice N Sathish Kumar said the second post-mortem should be conducted by a team of three doctors appointed by the court and must be captured on video. The girl’s father was allowed to attend the autopsy along with a lawyer.
Later in the day, the girl’s father moved the high court’s division bench, with a plea to include a doctor of his choice in the autopsy panel. The petition was rejected.
In his order, justice Kumar also expressed displeasure over the violent protests that broke out on Sunday, directed the state to form special teams to bring the guilty to book and said any death in educational institutions in the future must also be probed by the state’s criminal investigation department (CID).
Two teachers have been arrested for alleged abetment to death by suicide of the girl. The school’s principal and secretary have also been arrested.
(With inputs from Divya Chandrababu)
