Jayaraj-Bennix case: Raghu Ganesh plea to transfer trial dismissed

NEW DELHI:  The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea filed by P Raghu Ganesh who was charge-sheeted as accused by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the Jayaraj-Bennix case, in which a father-son duo were brutally murdered in police custody last year seeking transfer of trial from Tamil Nadu to Kerala. 

Noting that the matter was being considered by the Madras High Court and 44 witnesses had already been examined, the bench of Justices Krishna Murari and SR Bhat rejected the transfer. Appearing for the inspector, Senior Advocate Balasubramaniam argued that the state had a hostile attitude against Ganesh. It was also his contention that he was not present at the place of the incident when the crime took place. 

Jayaraj and Bennix were taken into custody on the allegation that they had kept their mobile phone shop open beyond the permissible hours during the lockdown. They were tortured in police custody, leading to their deaths.

The custodial deaths sparked large-scale public protests and social media outrage across the country. The Madras High Court took suo moto cognizance of the matter and ordered the Superintendent of Police, Thoothukudi, to inquire into the incident and submit a status report.

An order was given to videography the autopsy, which the court ordered to be done by a panel of three experts in the presence of a magistrate after the police completed its inquest proceedings. The Tamil Nadu government handed over the investigation to the CBI. The CBI had filed a charge sheet in the case