Law and order under control in TN: State govt to HC

, Sep 28: The law and order situation in Tamil Nadu was fully under control and barring some incidents that erupted due to "emotion", no violence has taken place after

chief

's conviction in a disproportionate assets case, the Madras High Court was told today.

This submission was made on behalf of the state government by Advocate General A L Somayaji before a vacation bench comprising justices S Vaidyanathan and R Mahadevan during the hearing of two petitions seeking a direction to the authorities to take steps to ensure public order and safety.

Citing the sporadic violent incidents like stoning and torching of buses, the petitioners have sought a direction to the Chief Secretary and Home Department of Tamil Nadu to take appropriate steps to ensure public order, safety and tranquility following the sentencing of Jayalalithaa by a special court in Bangalore yesterday.

The bench admitted the petitions and directed the government pleader S T S Moorthy to file a status report on the situation. It rejected the plea of the petitioners to take up the matter in the vacation court and posted the matter to October six.

The AG submitted some persons have been arrested with regard to torching of a bus and a two-wheeler in Kancheepuram and Darapuram respectively. A total of 13 cases have been registered. A meeting was held between the Chief Secretary and the DGP who chalked out a plan to deal with the situation.

Accordingly, 38 companies of police personnel have been deployed throughout the state. One Inspector General of Police and four Superintendents of Police have been sent to different districts to assist the local police, the AG submitted. One company has around 80 to 90 personnel.

Except the agitations "that erupted due to emotion no violence has taken place....After 6 PM (yesterday) even those agitations were brought under control and now the situation is fully under control," he said. Advocate Purushothaman, who appeared on behalf of S Jimraj Milton, Secretary of Human Rights Protection Centre, Chennai, raised in his arguments two issues -- one regarding the "constitutional vacuum" that had arisen because of the automatic disqualification of Jayalalithaa and the other pertaining to law and order.

Because of the judgement sentencing her to four years in jail which diqualified her as an MLA, there was no Chief Minister and the Council of Ministers on whose advice the Governor has to act, he said.

The other petition, filed by activist 'Traffic' Ramaswamy, contended that due to the negligence of the police officials, the ruling party workers were openly induling in violence to create sympathy for their leader. He said he has already made representation to the Chief Secretary and Home Department to ensure safety and security of the people and prayed the court to direct the authorities to consider his representation.

PTI