Madras high court dismisses Alagiri's plea to quash assault case against him

The Madras high court today dismissed a petition filed by Union minister MK Alagiri and three other DMK functionaries seeking to quash an assault case registered against them in the run-up to the April 13 Tamil Nadu assembly polls.

When the petition came up for hearing before him, Justice RS Ramanathan said the FIR against the chemicals and fertilisers minister and the three DMK functionaries, including Madurai deputy mayor PM Mannan, had been filed by police under various sections, including 143 (Unlawful assembly) and 332 (Voluntarily Causing hurt to deter public servant from performing his duty).

Though the complainant had denied and retracted his complaint, the court noted the FIR had been filed based on the incident and it was open to the police to take further action, and refused to quash the case.

On April 2, police registered a case against Alagiri, son of chief minister M Karunanidhi, and 52 other DMK men, in connection with alleged assault of the tehsildar and Melur assistant returning officer by DMK activists in his presence.

Tehsildar Kalimuthu had alleged in his complaint that he and a videographer, part of a flying squad, were assaulted by DMK activists when they videographed Alagiri's visit to a temple in Keelavalavu in Melur taluk.

However, in a U-turn, Kalimuthu later accused police of dictating the complaint and said he was not assaulted.

Advocate Chellapandi today argued that police had filed the case based on video recording and the FIR could not be quashed just because Kalimuthu had retracted his complaint.

The tehsildar, instead of informing his immediate superior who asked him to videograph the event, of his intention, had gone to the press informing them about it with an "ulterior motive", he alleged.

Alagiri submitted that the tehsildar had lodged a false complaint against him on 'instigation' of Madurai collector U Sagayam, who he alleged was "inimical" against the petitioners, pursuant to filing of a PIL petition against him in the Madras High Court in Chennai.

He said Kalimuthu had denied any such assault. The complaint had been made with "malafide intention, the continuation of investigation based on this complaint was unwarranted and was an abuse of process of law," Alagiri submitted.

He pleaded that the court quash the complaint "in the interest of justice"