Chennai: The Madras High Court has dismissed a petition filed by Paramasivam, father of Ramkumar, the sole accused in the 2016 Swathi murder case. The plea sought to quash the closure order of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) regarding the alleged custodial death of his son in Puzhal Central Prison. Ramkumar reportedly died by suicide after biting a live wire while in custody.
Petitioner's Allegations
Paramasivam alleged that the NHRC closed the suo motu complaint as 'action dropped' solely based on a report filed by the then Chennai Commissioner of Police. He argued that the commission should have conducted an independent inquiry, examined witnesses, and only then reached a conclusion. The petitioner contended that the NHRC failed to fulfill its mandate by relying solely on the police report.
Court's Observations
Refusing to concur with the petitioner's arguments, the first bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan noted significant delays in the filing of the petition. The bench observed that the NHRC had closed the complaint as early as May 4, 2020, and the petitioner approached the court only after a long delay. The court stated that the commission had considered all available material, including an independent investigation report and the police report, before concluding that Ramkumar died by suicide and that no further intervention was required.
The bench further highlighted that a division bench of the same court had previously examined all issues, taking note of the unanimous postmortem certificate, the findings of the inquiry report by the judicial magistrate, and the state government's order dropping further proceedings. These findings remained unchallenged. In light of this, the court held that the NHRC had rightly passed the order dropping further proceedings and dismissed the plea.
Background
Ramkumar was the prime accused in the brutal murder of Swathi, a software engineer, at the Nungambakkam railway station in Chennai in 2016. He was lodged in Puzhal Central Prison when he allegedly died by suicide in 2019. The NHRC had taken suo motu cognizance of the custodial death but later closed the case.
