Hearing in Sankararaman murder case adjourned to March 30

A local court today adjourned to March 30 hearing in the Sankararaman murder case in which the Kanchi  seer Jayendra Saraswathi and his junior Vijayendra Saraswathi are the prime accused.

Special Public Prosecutor N.Devadoss told PTI that the stay on the trial given by Madras High court on August 25 on a writ petition filed by a Chennai based advocate was still in force and hence the proceedings stood adjourned.

The petitioner had sought a stay on the trial and a direction to Registrar (Vigilance) to commence a statutory investigation by filing an FIR on his complaint regarding video tapes containing purported phone conversations allegedly to influence judgment in the case.

Only six of the 24 accused were present in the court today when the case came up before Principal District and Sessions Judge T Ramasamy and the absentees included the two seers who have been charged under IPC sections 302 (murder) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy).

Sankararaman was the Manager in the Varadarajaperumal temple in Kancheepuram and was allegedly murdered at his office on the premises of the temple on September 3, 2004. The trial was shifted from Chengalpattu court to Puducherry as per Supreme Court order given on a petition filed before the apex court by the Kanchi seer in October 2005.

A total of 189 witnesses were examined and cross-examined in the case and of them 87 have turned hostile.

PTI