Jaya death probe panel: Top court refuses to interfere with Madras High Court order

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to interfere with an order of the Madras high court upholding the appointment of one-man inquiry commission to probe into the mysterious circumstances leading to the demise of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa at Apollo hospital in Chennai on December 5, 2016.

A three judge Bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A.M. Kanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud dismissed an appeal filed by advocate P.A. Joseph challenging the high court order and seeking a fresh probe by a commission headed by three Supreme Court Judges.

When senior counsel K.M. Vijayan submitted that the high court had held that resolution by the Tamil nadu Assembly was only optional though it was a mandatory r requirement, the CJI told the counsel “there was some kind of opinion floating (about Jayalalithaa's death) and the government has appointed a Commission. The high court has given its judicial stamp of approval and we will not interfere with it.”

The petitioner questioned the appointment of an Inquiry Commission headed by former High Court judge Arumughaswami, who has taken charge of the probe. The AIADMK ministers and the hospital were issuing statements time and again that Ms. Jayalalithaa would be discharged from the hospital in a few days and would resume normal official duties soon. But despite all such statements, Ms. Jayalalithaa died on December 5, 2016. The government appointed the one man Commission to probe her death.