TN govt repeatedly committing contempt of court in idol theft cases: HC

The Madras High Court Monday said the Tamil Nadu government was repeatedly committing contempt of court by not implementing its orders in connection with idol theft cases in the state.

A bench of Justices R Mahadevan and P D Audikesavalu made the observation as the court appointed special officer to head Idol Wing CID, Pon Manickavel submitted that an investigating officer (IO) in charge of the Mylapore temple idol theft case was missing for the last 20 days.

"This court is showing some patience but that does not mean that its orders can be flouted. This is a divine place, orders passed by this court must be implemented in true spirit. We will see who on earth dares to jump the orders," the bench said.

Manickavel told the court that for the last 20 days, the accused who was directed by the court to appear before the IO was coming to the Guindy office provided for the wing but the IO was missing.

Our attempts to contact or trace him went in vain. Even the case diary was not provided to us, he added.

Surprised over the appearance of the IO before the court, the special officer said he must be immediately arrested for dereliction of duty.

To this, the bench said that he can arrest the IO if the law permits.

Earlier, it was submitted on behalf of the state government that appropriate office space as requested by the wing was provided in Guindy here and 90 per cent of the court order in this connection was implemented.

Rejecting the submission, Manickavel said that only 1 percent of the order had been adhered to.

During the hearing, Advocate Elephant G Rajendran submitted that he was facing life threats and the DGP would be held responsible if anything happened to him.

"I have been continuously asking for police protection, but they are refusing. If this continues, I will leave India and go live with my son in America," he said.

To this, the bench directed the prosecution to get instructions on the status of his application by Thursday.