On Friday, the High Court of Madras directed the Tiruchirappalli District Collector to take steps to fix an appointment with the Sri Lankan High Commission here for Murugan, an ex-convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case within a day or two for him to get a travel document.Sriharan alias Murugan is a Sri Lankan national. His wife & another former convict in the case, Nalini had moved the court with a plea seeking a direction to authorities concerned to permit him to appear before the Sri Lankan Deputy High Commission here for getting a passport to leave the country.Murugan, along with the six others in the case, was freed by the Supreme Court in November 2022 following a three decade incarceration.Post his release he has been lodged in a special camp in Tiruchirappalli.On Friday, a division bench comprising Justices R Suresh Kumar & Kumaresh Babu gave the direction on a petition filed by Nalini, which sought a direction tothe authorities to permit her husband to appear before the Sri Lankan High Commission in Chennai on any working day between 9.30hrs to 15.30 hrs & as & when required with escort to get an “all country passport.” She had moved the court seeking the relief, submitting they wanted to go to the UK to join their daughter who resides there.The bench said the counsel for the petitioner would contend that the Lankan High Commission would not give appointment to any such persons like the petitioner’s husband for transacting business to get passport or travel document & that such persons can visit its office between 11 am & 1.30 pm on any working day.Therefore based on the said pattern being followed by the High Commission, the State Authorities, especially the Tiruchirappalli District Collector has to take necessary steps to bring him to the High Commission with full escort enabling him to appear at the consular office.The bench said in this context, the apprehension of the State authorities was that based on this understanding, as no communication whatsoever has been directly received by the Collector, if escort was provided & the husband of the petitioner was brought before the High Commission on a particular day & if for want of time or any reason, the procedure could not be completed & if any other date was given, he has to be taken back to Trichy camp & again brought here.Therefore, the bench said, in order to avoid the unnecessary issues & complications, the State authorities especially the Trichy Collector can make efforts to fix up an appointment for bringing or producing Murugan at the Sri Lankan High Commission on any particular date & time.On that appointment, the petitioner’s husband can be brought to the Sri Lankan High Commission in the city with escort to be provided by the State Authorities under the supervision of the District Collector, Trichy.The bench said therefore, in this context, “we feel that the District Collector, Trichy can take steps to contact the Sri Lankan High Commission at Chennai to fix up an appointment for the aforesaid transaction of business & if he is able to get appointment, on that date there could be no impediment to bring the husband of the petitioner from the detention camp at Trichy to the Sri Lankan High Commission at Chennai”.The bench directed the Collector to work out the possibility of getting an appointment as indicated above with the High Commission within a day or two & report the development before this Court by March 12, 2024.
TAGS: High Court of Madras Tiruchirappalli District Collector appointment Sri Lankan High Commission Murugan ex-convict Rajiv Gandhi assassination case
