Forest brigand Veerappan was killed 20 years ago. Yet, cases related to the collateral damage caused due to the massive manhunt to catch him refuse to die down even now. The Madras High Court on Monday dismissed one such writ petition filed by Veerappan’s nephew seeking a compensation of ₹20 lakh.
Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy said the court could only empathise with the writ petitioner, A. Sathish Kumar, 36, of Atappalam village in Krishnagiri district, who had reportedly seen his father G. Arjunan last at the age of six in 1995 and began a search for him ever since he attained majority in 2007. The petitioner’s counsel P. Vijendran told the court that Mr. Sathish’s mother A. Mariammal was Veerappan’s sister. She had died by suicide in 1991 allegedly because of the torture meted out to her by police personnel who were desperately looking for some lead to catch her brother.
In 1993, the Eriyur police in Pennagaram of Dharmapuri district had registered a case against a group of people, including the writ petitioner’s father, under the provisions of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, the Arms Act, the Explosives Act and also the Indian Penal Code. However, while delivering its judgment in the case on December 19, 2006, a Fast Track Court in Dharmapuri had recorded that Arjunan had died pending trial, though Mr. Sathish was only aware of his father being arrested by the Karnataka police in another case on September 14, 1995.
After making representations to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in 2008, Mr. Kumar filed a habeas corpus petition in the High Court in 2009, seeking a direction to the Karnataka police to produce his father before the court. However, this plea was closed in 2010 after the police denied having arrested him.
Even after that, Mr. Sathish continued to pursue the matter with the NHRC and the President’s office until he learned of a death certificate issued by the Natrapalayam panchayat in Denkanikotta taluk of Dharmapuri district on December 26, 2001, declaring his father to have died on June 13, 1995. Thereafter, he came to terms that his father could have died possibly due to custodial torture and began making representations to the State seeking a compensation of ₹20 lakh for his death. He filed a writ petition in 2017 and obtained a direction in 2022 to consider his representations.
On March 11, 2024, the Krishnagiri Collector rejected his plea for compensation on the grounds that the genuineness of the death certificate could not be ascertained. The Collector said the document’s serial number was 18, whereas the death register of the panchayat only had 17 entries in 2001.
Opposing the petitioner’s present plea to quash the Collector’s order and grant him the compensation, Additional Government Pleader (AGP) Stalin Abhimanyu said the petitioner was not sure if his father’s death was due to just custodial torture, and there was no case registered in connection with this. The AGP added that the petitioner could not expect an inquiry to be conducted regarding his father after 30 years.
Recording his submissions, the judge said there would be no point in the petitioner pursuing the matter, henceforth, without any concrete material regarding his father’s death. “This court can empathise with the petitioner. However, there is some thing called a future, and it is time to move on,” the judge concluded.
(Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the State’s health helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416. and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050)
