Goondas Act on Thirumurugan and 3 others quashed

A division bench comprising Justice A Selvam and Justice P Kalaiyarasan, on holding that all the 11 representations given by Thirumurugan were not disposed within the stipulated time, said, “It shows total inaction on the part of the concerned authorities. Such delay in disposal of the representations affects the right of the detainee guaranteed under Article 22 (5) of the Constitution of India. Therefore, on this ground alone, this court is of the considered view that the detention order is liable to be quashed.” 

On similar lines the bench also quashed the Goondas imposed on Arun Kumar, Ilamaran and Dyson, who were held along with Thirumurugan. Thirumurugan along with others were arrested on May 21 after they held a candlelight vigil on the Marina to mark the anniversary of the genocide in northern Sri Lanka during the final phase of the Eelam war between Sri Lankan army and the LTTE. The city police detained Thirumurugan and three others under the Goondas Act.