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The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday, July 22, directed the Tamil Nadu government to pay an additional Rs 25 lakh as interim compensation to the family of Ajith Kumar, a 29-year-old temple security guard from Sivanganga district who died in police custody recently.
The state had earlier paid Rs 7.5 lakh. However, the court observed that the sum was inadequate, especially when compared to compensation awarded in previous custodial death cases.
The case was heard by a division bench comprising Justices S M Subramaniam and A D Maria Clete on a batch of public interest litigations related to the custodial death. The judges also clarified that the family could still approach the competent court for further compensation, if necessary.
The state informed the court that, apart from monetary compensation, a government job had been offered to Ajith Kumar’s brother and land had been allotted to their mother.
Petitioners had pointed out that while police had been deployed for protection to the witnesses, several other components of the scheme remained unimplemented. The court further directed the Principal District Judge of Sivaganga to dispose of protection applications submitted by key witnesses in the case under the Witness Protection Scheme, 2018, within seven working days.
The Additional Advocate General (AAG) M Ajmal Khan, appearing for the state, opposed a plea to extend compensation to other injured victims, arguing that such a decision should be taken only after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) files its final report. The bench agreed with this view but said the victims can approach the authorities concerned for the compensation.
The AAG also confirmed that the state had complied with the court’s previous directive to transfer both the custodial death case and the related theft case initially filed against Ajith Kumar to the CBI. The matter has been posted for further hearing on August 20.