Defamation case against journalist: EPS to record evidence at home

EPS had contended that his physical appearance at the High Court premises will cause inconvenience to the public due to security and other issues and sought appointment of an Advocate Commissioner to record his evidence at his official residence.

Chennai: The Madras High Court on Tuesday appointed an Advocate Commissioner to enable Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami record his evidence at his residence in a defamation suit he filed against New Delhi-based journalist Mathew Samuel for connecting him with the murder-cum-heist in Kodanad bungalow owned by late J Jayalalithaa.

Justice N Sathish Kumar appointed Karthikei Balan as the Advocate Commissioner to record Palaniswami’s statement at his official residence based on a request from him. The former chief minister had in 2019 filed the suit against Samuel and two accused in the 2017 Kodanad case – V Sayan and C Vayalar Manoj – for allegedly defaming his name by alluding that he had a role in the incident.

Palaniswami had contended that his physical appearance at the High Court premises will cause inconvenience to the public due to security and other issues and sought appointment of an Advocate Commissioner to record his evidence at his official residence in Chennai. The judge acceded to his request on Tuesday.

The murder-cum-heist at the Kodanad tea estate and bungalow owned by Jayalalithaa in April 2017 months after her death sent shockwaves across the state. Om Bahadur, who worked as a guard at the bungalow, was murdered during the break-in, and several materials were stolen from the mansion.

Samuel had released a video at a press conference in New Delhi in 2019 connecting Palaniswami, who was then Chief Minister, with the heist-cum-murder.

Kodanad was the summer retreat of Jayalalithaa since she and her long-time aide V K Sasikala bought the sprawling bungalow in Kothagiri in early 1990s. The former chief minister would visit the bungalow often when her party, AIADMK, was occupying the Opposition benches in the Assembly.

After the break-in in April 2017, the AIADMK government had said that robbery was the motive behind burglars striking the bungalow and that a few watches and other articles that were stolen were recovered. However, the DMK, which suspects a larger conspiracy, reopened the 2017 case after coming to power in 2019 by re-examining the key accused, Sayan.

Police had then alleged that C Kanagaraj, Jayalalithaa’s former driver, and Sayan plotted the crime. However, Kanagaraj, Sayan’s wife and their daughter died in separate road accidents, raising doubts.

Nestled amidst lush tea gardens, the luxurious estate with a magnificent white bungalow and a private lake in Kothagiri was Jayalalithaa’s favourite summer retreat for over two decades.

The sprawling estate is now under the control of the Income Tax Department which has attached the property under the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act. The property was jointly owned by Jayalalithaa, her long-time aide V K Sasikala and a few of her relatives.