Judge Arumughaswamy close to filing report on Amma’s death

The first floor of the Kalas Mahal near the Chepauk Stadium wears a forlorn look, as wall debris as well as construction workers occupy pride of place all around the area. The 248-year-old heritage structure, formerly part of the Chepauk Palace, is currently under renovation, after a fire broke out in 2012. 

Passers- by could be forgiven for giving the building a miss – that is covered in scaffolding - and moving on to the adjacent PWD complex.

However, a closer look at the name-board outside reveals that behind all the restoration work lies the office of the man in charge of the most important probe in Tamil Nadu’s history – the circumstances surrounding former Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa’s hospitalisation and demise.

Inside his office, former Madras High Court judge A Arumughaswamy – who constitutes the one-man commission – sits engrossed over papers and files, as the date to submit the report of the findings inches closer.

A lone policeman sits outside his office, alert to any unusual activity or visitors, ensuring that the judge is not disturbed without reason.

Arumughaswamy’s secretary and staff are courteous, receiving visitors to the first floor cordially, in the event that they have any last-minute information that will help the judge with filing his final report.

Apparently, since late September, when the inquiry panel was first instituted, quite a few affidavits have been submitted that could provide information on Jayalalithaa’s controversial hospitalisation at Apollo Hospitals and her subsequent death.

One of the main pre-requisites for the merger of the O Panneerselvam and current Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami factions was the setting up of this inquiry. Conspiracy theories refuse to go away over the issue: from ministers claiming they were not allowed to visit Jayalalithaa’s hospital room (but had to lie under pressure that they met her), to others blaming the VK Sasikala family. However, the move by the Tamil Nadu government to appoint the inquiry commission has come under criticism from Opposition leader MK Stalin, who has demanded a CBI inquiry instead into the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of Jayalalithaa.

Sources also reveal that Arumughaswamy has been provided tight security and very little information (if any at all) on the probe has been leaked outside.

Despite DTNext’s best efforts, the judge refused to entertain any questions, and politely asserted that he was busy with important meetings through the week. Even a visit to the State Guest House nearby, where he is housed on the second floor, proved futile as the policemen flanking his hotel door turned away visitors, stating that he did not wish to give any comment.