SC allows Kanchi Shankaracharya's plea for a public prosecutor from Puducherry

New Delhi, July 22 : The Supreme Court today allowed Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati's plea for appointing a public prosecutor from Puducherry to hold trial against him in the Sankararaman murder case.

The Court had on April 10 reserved the judgement on the issue in which Saraswati had contended that since the trial in the case was transferred to Puducherry, the Tamil Nadu Government has no authority to appoint its public prosecutor.

Saraswati had challenged the appointment of a public prosecutor from Tamil Nadu for holding trial in the case, which was shifted to Puducherry on the direction of the Apex court.

Saraswati had contended that since the trial in the case was transferred to Puducherry, the Tamil Nadu Government has no authority to appoint its public prosecutor.

Tamil Nadu Government had maintained that Section 24 CrPC provides exclusive right to a State for appointing its own public prosecutor and hence the pontiff's plea should not be entertained.

The Shankaracharya was arrested on November 14, 2004 by the Tamil Nadu police in Andhra Pradesh's Mahaboobnagar District in connection with the murder of A Sankararaman, manager of the Sri Vardaraja Perumal Temple, Kancheepuram on September 3, 2004.

Following a petition filed by the pontiff, the Supreme Court on October 26, 2005 shifted the trial against the seer from the Principal Sessions Court, Chengalpattu in Tamil Nadu to the District and Sessions Court, Puducherry.

The apex court on May 2, 2006 had also stayed the trial before the session court, Puducherry after the seer opposed Tamil Nadu Government's move to appoint its own public prosecutor for the trial.

ANI