Karunanidhi midnight arrest
Encyclopedia
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
Chief Minister Karunanidhi of and host of others including Central Ministers Mr Murasoli Maran
Murasoli Maran
Murasoli Maran was a prominent Tamil politician in India, and an important leader of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party which is headed by his maternal uncle and mentor, M. Karunanidhi. A Member of Parliament for 36 years, he was made a Union Minister in three separate central governments, in...
and Mr T.R. Baalu for the first time in Independent India was a Central Cabinet Minister arrested. The scenes of a 78 year old former Chief Minister being dragged screaming, crying and kicking, out of his residence at midnight on June 30 2001 shocked the nation. The images of the arrest was broadcast within a few hours of the arrest on Sun TV and all the other television channels which shocked the conscience of the nation.
Subsequent footage shown in the rival Jaya TV showed that the police did not push or punch Karunanidhi. Noted Forensic scientist, Prof. P. Chandra Sekharan from Bangalore (Yelahanka) claimed that the Jaya TV
Jaya TV
Jaya TV is one of the major Tamil language satellite television channels based in Chennai, India. Jaya TV is one of the early Tamil channels to entertain the Tamil audiences spread across Globe....
clipping was manipulated.
Background
The First Information ReportFirst Information Report
A First Information Report or FIR is a written document prepared by the police in India, Pakistan and Japan when they receive information about the commission of a cognizable offence. It is a report of information that reaches the police first in point of time and that is why it is called the First...
(FIR), based on the complaint lodged by Chennai Corporation Commissioner J C T Acharyalu on Friday night at 9 p.m on June 29 2001. Mr Acharyalu became Corporation Commissioner only after May 2001 assembly elections appointed by the Jayalalitha Government. He had been kept under suspension by the Karunanidhi Government. The complaint relates alleged losses of Rs 12 crore in the construction of the mini-flyovers in the city of Chennai. M.K. Stalin
M.K. Stalin
Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin is an Indian politician and former actor, better known as M. K. Stalin. He is the third son of famous politician of Tamil Nadu, Karunanidhi, and was born to his second wife, Mrs. Dayalu Ammal and was named after Joseph Stalin. Stalin completed his graduation in...
was the Mayor of the city.As the police complaint was lodged only Friday night and the arrest took place within few hours at midnight with virtually no time to conduct an investigation. It was seen as a clear case of Political vendetta.
Arrest
The Police went to Karunanidhi's house at an early hour of 1-30 a.m. on June 30 and broke open the door and asked karunanidhi to dress up, when Karunanidhi was asleep in the upstairs bedroom at his house. They cut the telephone lines to the house. Television clipping showed Karunanidhi falling down and being shoved, pushed, beaten and bodily lifted by police officers within the house. Murasoli MaranMurasoli Maran
Murasoli Maran was a prominent Tamil politician in India, and an important leader of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party which is headed by his maternal uncle and mentor, M. Karunanidhi. A Member of Parliament for 36 years, he was made a Union Minister in three separate central governments, in...
who went to rescue him was also attacked and arrested when he resisted the arrest of the ex-chief minister. Maran
Maran
Maran is a title for exceptionally respected rabbis. The term is more prevalent among Sephardi Jews, but is also widely used by Ashkenazi Haredi Jews.It is an Aramaic word used frequently in the Talmud which means 'our master'...
who is a heart patient with a pacemaker had to be admitted to Apollo Hospital after arrest. T.R.Balu and thousands of DMK cadres were arrested. M.K.Stalin surrendered before a Magistrate
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
. Prime Minister Vajpayee
Vajpayee
Vajpayee or Bajpai is a North Indian Brahmin surname, common, among other places, especially in Lucknow. Brahmins,are further sub categorised as Kanyakubjas, a group that also includes Awasthi, Dixits, Tewari, Tripathi, Agnihotri etc...
condemned the arrest and demanded a report from chief secretary and Governor. The arrest was condemned by all across the political spectrum. It was condemned by human rights groups and even the then allies of the AIADMK.
Court Flak
Court found fault with the Government on several counts- Judge found fault with Chennai Corporation Commissioner Acharyalu for making a hasty complaint as he had been appointed to his post only a week ago he could not know what had happened between 1998 and 2000 when a traffic improvement committee and a high-level steering committee were set up to ease traffic and the construction of flyovers was given to contractors.He could not have known how the accused received financial benefit.
- Acharyalu gave the complaint directly to CB-CID and not through the chief Secretary as is the normal procedure
- Acharyalu had not consulted the engineers and councillors involved in the project before giving complaint.
- Judge wanted the Special Public Prosecutor Mr. A. Raghunathan to pinpoint who was the main accused. Mr. A. Raghunathan replied that he could not pinpoint the main accused to the surprise of the judge.
- Judge found fault that no investigation was done apart from Acharyalu's complaint and a few files with the corporation
- The Judge disapproved of the manner in which the complaint was made, the FIR registered and the arrests carried out.
- P. Padmanabhan, investigating officer said none of the accused including Karunanidhi or the other 14 accused received any pecuniary benefits raising questions about the motive of the FIR.
- Judge was surprised that the main accused could not be pinpointed,the accused received no benefit further no investigation was done prior to the arrest leading to questioning the motive of the arrest.
- Judge further noted the way the complaint was lodged and FIR registered without examining witnesses shows that the only motive was to arrest some people.they called an abuse of power.
- Court wondered why in a normal corruption case, a First Information ReportFirst Information ReportA First Information Report or FIR is a written document prepared by the police in India, Pakistan and Japan when they receive information about the commission of a cognizable offence. It is a report of information that reaches the police first in point of time and that is why it is called the First...
is filed, the case investigated, a chargesheet is made and a court decides whether to give bail to the accused or not. In this case,the FIR was filed at night and arrests were made at midnight.The accused were those leaders who were not likely to abscond.Why these procedures were not followed?