In Crl. Appeal Nos.28, 36, 62, 94 & 176 of 2020-MAD HC- Madras HC partly allows criminal appeals & modifies sentences of members of Tamil Nadu Liberation Force involved in 1997 Andimadam police station attack case, says they had no intention to cause death or harm to any person
Justice G.Jayachandran [18-05-2023]

Read Order: Murugaiyan And Ors v. State rep.by The Inspector of Police And Ors 

Tulip Kanth

Chennai, May 26, 2023: While observing that the gang members belonging to the banned organisation-Tamil Nadu Liberation Force, who had attacked Andimadam police station and  looted the arms, had no intention to cause death or harm to any person, the Madras High Court has partly allowed the criminal Appeals filed by the accused persons.

“From the evidence, this Court is able to arrive at conclusion that the accused persons had no intention to cause death or harm to any person. Their intention was to loot arms from the police station and to record their intention by pasting the posters and distributing the pamphlets”, Justice G.Jayachandran asserted.

This incident occurred in the year 1997 when an armed gang consisting of about 20 members entered into the Andimadam Police Station and barged into the Inspector room. On seeing them the Headconstable and Constable locked the door inside. One of the members of the gang latched the room out side to prevent the Head Constable and Constable from coming out of the Inspector room. The members of the gang threatened SI-Viswanathan with guns and knife.

The gang members collected the weapons kept in a box at the station. Viswanathan was attacked and after robbing the arms and ammunitions, the gang damaged the VHF equipments in the police station and also took away the police uniform of Viswanathan, which was kept in the suit case and they threw written pamphlets containing slogans eulogising their leader and their ideology of separate Tamil Desam. 

Some of the posters were pasted on the compound wall of the police station. Irulappan, who regained self, opened the doors of Inspector room and writer room. The higher officials were informed about the incident and they all by mid-night came to the police station. In the course of investigation, 15 persons were arrested. Confession statements of those persons were recorded. The arms looted from the police station were substantially recovered from them.

Aggrieved by the conviction and sentence, Murugaiyan [A4] Sundaramoorthy [A5], Jeyachandran [A6], Sekar @ Chinnathambi [A7], Nagarajan [A9] & Ponnivalavan @ Murugan [A13]  had filed Criminal Appeals. Natarajan [A4] died in the prison and his appeal was abated.

The Bench noted that based on the materials placed by the prosecution, the trial Court framed charges against the accused persons & these accused along with the approver Veeraiyan belonged to a banned organisation by name Tamilnadu Liberation Force. The object of the association is to liberate Tamilnadu from Union of India. 

They all conspired to attack Andimadam police station on July 13, 1997 and to loot the arms and destroy other materials. For the said purpose, between January 1996 to July 1997, they met at various places and schemed the crime.

It was noticed that the  approver had spoken about the accused persons, their participation in the conspiracy and overt act in the crime. “Though the approver testimony is a weak piece of evidence, when it lend credence to the evidence of other substantive witnesses namely the eye witnesses, his evidence is required for the identity of the persons who form part of the unlawful assembly armed with weapons”, the Bench added.

The Bench further observed, “ It is a high profile case, where the members of separatist organisation were involved in looting the arms in the police station. Despite notoriousity of the organisation, public witnesses have come forward to substantiate the case of the prosecution regarding arrest, recovery based on the confession of the accused persons. The Material Objects recovered from these accused has been identified by the witnesses of police department that they belong to the department and supplied to the Andimadam police station.”

Reference was made to the photographs of the ransacked police station which were the evidence to prove that the public property had been extensively damaged besides decoity committed by the armed gang. The said act was pursuant to conspiracy, the Bench stated while adding, “ In the case of conspiracy, the act of one person is the act of all the other co conspirators. The presence of the appellants at the scene of occurrence has been spoken by the witnesses present and the approver. The recovery of the looted arms from the accused persons in the presence of independent witnesses well established through the witnesses, who have signed the respective recovery Mahazar.”

The Bench found no error in the judgment of the trial Court and opined that A9 couldnot be punished for offence under Sections 4(b) and 5 of Explosives Substances Act, 1908. In this case, if that charge is excluded, the major offence committed by the appellants will be decoity, unlawful assembly armed with weapon preventing public servant from discharging the duty putting them under fear of death and wrongful confinement, the Bench further opined.

Thus, considering the gravity of offence as well as the period of incarceration suffered by the appellants pending trial and after trial, the Bench modified the period of sentence and partly allowed the appeal.