Radhakrishnan assault case: Tamil Nadu appeals acquittal of Kanchi mutt seer

The state government has filed an appeal in the Madras high court against an order of a lower court acquitting on April 29 the head of the Kanchi mutt, Jayendra Saraswathi, and 8 others in auditor Radhakrishnan assault case.

Justice R.Subbiah, before whom the appeal filed by the state government represented by the public prosecutor came up for hearing on Monday, ordered notice returnable in two weeks to Jayendra Saraswathi and others.

Radhakrishnan was assaulted on September 20, 2002, due to a previous enmity relating to mutt activities allegedly between Jayendra Saraswathi and Rad-hakrishnan at his residence in Mylapore. The Fores-hore Estate police registered a case on the same day and later it was transferred to the special investigation team in Kancheepuram. After a prolonged trial for nearly 13 years, the additional sessions judge in Chennai had on April 29 acquitted all the accused, including Jayendra Saraswathi in the case. Aggrieved, the state government has preferred the present appeal in which the government contended that the judgment of the trial court in acquitting the accused for the charges framed against them was contrary to law and weight of evidence.

The trial court ignored all those points pointed out by the prosecution side by way of many incriminating evidences available against the accused persons. The trial court committed grave error in not appreciating the detailed and elaborate written arguments filed by the prosecution.

It also committed grave error in not considering the evidence of three injured eyewitnesses before the trial court, the government added and sought to set aside the order of the lower court and convict the accused in the case.