Why no appeal in Sankararaman case, HC asks Puducherry govt

The Madras High Court today sought the Puducherry government's stand on a plea for CBI probe into a taped telephonic talks allegedly between the trial judge and the key accused of the 2004 Sankararaman murder case.
A bench of justices N Kirubakaran and V Parthiban issued notice to the government on a plea by one V Manikandan, who sought the transfer of the probe into the alleged conversation from Cyber Crime Cell of the state police to the CBI as the former had allegedly filed no report on the probe by it.
On Manikandan's plea, the bench also sought the Union Territory government's explanation as to why no appeal had been filed against the en masse acquittal of the accused in the case.

The bench asked the Puducherry government pleader to get instructions from the government by tomorrow.
The petitioner had sought a CBI probe into the taped conversations allegedly between the then trial judge in Puducherry, who had heard the case and others including Kanchi pontiff Jayendra Sarawathi, who was the prime accused in the 2004 Sankararaman murder case.
In 2011, when the purported talks between the Kanchi seer and the trial judge surfaced, the matter went to the high court which briefly stayed the trial.

Later, the high court ordered a probe by the Cyber Crime Cell in 2012. In 2013, all the 24 accused in the case including Jayendra Saraswathi and his junior Vijayendra Saraswathi were acquitted by a Puducherry sessions court.

The matter relates to the killing of Sankararaman, the then manager of Sri Varadharaja Perumal Temple at Kancheepuram inside the temple premises.
It was submitted by the petitioner before the bench that no report was filed on the investigation that was carried out in the above matter by the Cyber Crime Cell. Hence, he had sought a CBI probe.
The petitioner has also contended that "for the reasons best known to the Puducherry government" it had not filed any appeal against the acquittal.