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The Supreme Court on Wednesday, November 19, stayed a Madras High Court order to transfer the probe into the murder of former Tamil Nadu Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) President K Armstrong to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
A bench comprising Justices J K Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi was hearing the Tamil Nadu government’s appeal against a Madras High Court order quashing the police’s chargesheet in the case and transferring the case to the CBI.
The Madras High Court had ordered the transfer of the investigation into the murder to the CBI on September 24, after it quashed the over 7,000-page chargesheet filed by the Greater Chennai Police. The chargesheet had named 30 accused, and attributed Armstrong’s murder to a gang rivalry linked to the 2023 murder of gangster ‘Arcot’ Suresh. However, Armstrong’s family alleged that political motives were deliberately excluded from the probe.
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The Tamil Nadu government had approached the Supreme Court against the quashing, arguing that the High Court had quashed a “comprehensive chargesheet running into 7,411 pages and arraying 30 accused persons” in a “casual manner”. Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for the state, also objected to the transfer of the probe to CBI, arguing that it cannot be done as a matter of routine by the High Courts.
On October 10, the apex court had partially stayed the HC order quashing the chargesheet. However, the court said that the HC’s direction to transfer the probe to the CBI would remain in force.
Porkudi, Armstrong’s wife, who was represented by senior advocate R Basant, alleged in a November 14 hearing that the state government was not handing over the probe sheets to the CBI and filed an application in court addressing this issue.
With the November 19 ruling issued by the SC, the Madras HC order for CBI transfer too has been stayed.
Armstrong was killed by armed assailants near his residence at Chennai’s Perambur, on July 5, 2024. A Special Investigation Team headed by the Joint Commissioner of Police had been formed. To date, 27 people have been arrested and remanded to judicial custody in connection with the case.
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