Tamil Nadu: Police told to respond to Pandian’s plea against jail term
During the protest, ONGC properties were allegedly damaged, following which the Vikkirapandiyam police registered a case against Pandian, former panchayat president Selvaraj, and 22 others.
CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has directed the police to file their response to a petition filed by farmers’ leader PR Pandian seeking to set aside the 13-year prison sentence imposed on him in a case relating to damage to the property of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).
In 2015, a group of farmers led by Pandian, president of the Tamil Nadu Farmers' Associations Coordination Committee, staged a protest at Kariyamangalam in Tiruvarur district against the installation of deep borewells by ONGC for oil extraction in the Cauvery Delta region, alleging that they damaged agricultural lands.
During the protest, ONGC properties were allegedly damaged, following which the Vikkirapandiyam police registered a case against Pandian, former panchayat president Selvaraj, and 22 others.
After the trial, the Tiruvarur sessions court sentenced Pandian and Selvaraj to 13 years of imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 13,000 on each of them. The court acquitted the remaining 22 accused in the case.
Following the verdict, Pandian was lodged in the Tiruchy Central Prison. Challenging the conviction and sentence, an appeal has been filed before the Madras High Court on his behalf. In the petition, he also sought suspension of the sentence and grant of bail.
When the matter came up for hearing before Justice Sunder Mohan, petitioner’s lawyer senior counsel V Raghavachari submitted that a sentence of 13 years had been imposed merely for participating in a protest as a farmer. He also pointed out that 22 people were acquitted and only two individuals had been convicted.
After hearing the submissions, the judge directed the police to file their counter affidavit to the petition and adjourned the matter to Friday.