Hearing in Sankararaman murder case adjourned to August 11
PTI | 03:08 PM,Aug 05,2011Puducherry, Aug 5 (PTI): A local court today adjourned to August 11, hearing in the Sankararaman murder case, in which Kanchi seer Jayendra Saraswati and his junior Vijendra Saraswati are main accused, after conceding prosecution's plea for viewing of video cassettes collected during investigation. Principal District and Sessions Judge T Ramaswamy fixed Aug 11 for in camera display of the casettes for viewing by the prosecution and defence counsel after Special Public Prosecutor N Devadoss filed a petition in this regard when hearing resumed today. Devadoss said the audio and video cassettes had been marked as 'vital documents'.The court had also granted viewing on Aug 12 after which arguments in the case would commence, he said. Sankararman, the manager in Varadarajaperumal temple in Kancheepuram, was allegedly murdered on the premises of the temple on September 3, 2004. Only eight of the 24 accused were present in court today.The absentees included the two seers. A total of 189 witnesses were examined and cross examined since start of the trial in April 2009, of whom 81 turned hostile. Questioning of all accused including the two seers was also carried out in batches between July 18 and 23. All of them had alleged that a false case had been foisted against them. The two seers have been charged under IPC sections of 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 302 (murder). The trial was shifted to Puducherry from Chengalpattu court on a directive of the Supreme Court in a writ petition filed before it by Jayendra Saraswathi in October 2005.
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