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Kodanad Case: Accused move Madras HC to examine Palaniswami, Sasikala
The Kodanad case took a murky turn in 2019 when K V Sayan, a prime accused alleged former chief minister Palaniswami’s involvement in the heist-cum-murder incident.
As the present political slugfest over the 2017 Kodanad heist-cum-murder case plays out inside the Tamil Nadu assembly, two related but contradictory pleas have been filed in the Madras high court, further muddying the waters.
In one of the petitions, three of the ten accused in the case have asked the court to order interrogation of former chief minister and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leader Edappadi Palaniswami and late J Jayalalithaa’s close confidante V K Sasikala among others, while the second petition, filed by a witness, seeks a stay on any further investigation in the case and demands fast tracking of the trial.
A security guard at former Tamil Nadu CM and AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa’s Kodanad estate was allegedly murdered by robbers on August 17, 2017, followed by more mysterious deaths of an accused and family members of another accused in the case. All the 10 accused in the case hailed from Kerala. However, the case took a murky turn in 2019 when K V Sayan, a prime accused in the case alleged former chief minister Palaniswami’s involvement in the heist-cum-murder incident. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), which had then sought Palaniswami’s resignation over the matter was now "furthering" investigations after returning to power this year, leading to a political storm in the state. The AIADMK has accused the DMK of a witch hunt to frame their leaders for political vendetta, while the ruling party insists it only wants the truth to surface.
Deepu, MS Satheesan, and A Samthosh Samy, who along with seven others charge-sheeted in the case are undergoing trial at the session court in the Nilgiris, have now filed a joint revision petition requesting interrogation of nine persons including Palaniswami, Sasikala, Jayalalithaa’s foster son V N Sudakaran, the then-Nilgiris collector and police chief, two employees of the Kodanad Estate alleging the real culprits have been let off by “lethargic” investigations in the case. Their petition was earlier rejected by the Nilgiris sessions court on April 30.
“The learned judge of the trial court failed to consider the sensitivity of the case wherein the second respondent (Sayan) has come forward in digital media to depose about the involvement of former chief minister of Tamil Nadu, and dismissed the petition in a mechanical manner,” the petition alleges.
The three have claimed that the trail at the Nilgiris court was “hurried”, “influenced” and “monitored” by persons holding power in the former ruling party, a reference to the AIADMK. They also alleged that the police inquired only 41 out of over a hundred witnesses it had listed. Their review petition also cites the death of the family of one of the accused in an accident and alleges political pressure on Sayan apart from claiming that an AIADMK-related person was appointed as the lawyer for one of the accused in the past in an attempt to derail their defence. The petition was filed on August 9 but was circulated to the media this week.
After the case returned to the forefront of state politics following the DMK’s victory in assembly elections earlier this year, Palaniswami alleged a “secret statement” had been taken from the main accused, Sayan, with the purpose to frame him in the case. The AIADMK also released a video in which Sayan is purportedly being asked by few persons to name Palaniswami.
Meanwhile, the second petition filed by a witness is listed for hearing today.
