HC grants bail to accused in Seer case

Chennai, June 20 (UNI) The Madras High Court today granted bail to Pandian alias Dil Pandian, who surrendered before a city court in connection with the Sankararaman murder case in which Senior Kanchi Acharya Jayendra Saraswathi was the prime accused.

Mr Justice K N Basha granted bail to Pandian on the condition that he would execute a bond for Rs 25,000 with two sureties each for a like amount, of which one should be from a Government servant.

''He should appear before the trial court in Pondicherry on all further hearings without fail'', the judge added.

In his petition, Pandian submitted the police registered a case on the allegation that he caused a fake surrender on October 27, 2004 before the XV Metropolitan Magistrate, George Town, with a view to tamper with the evidence relating to Sankararaman murder case.

He said he surrendered along with four other people on October 27, 2004 and did not have any knowledge about the conspiracy and the murder of Sankararaman. He said he never participated in the onspiracy as well in the said occurrence and had never gone to Kancheepuram at any time in the specified period, Therefore, the offence under section 302 of the IPC, would not come into play against him, the petition added.

At the time of his surrender, he was assured that he was surrendering only for petty cases and also he was promised that he would get bail within a short span of time. Therefore, on the date of surrender, he did not know that he was going to surrender in the murder case, he added.

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