The Madras High Court on Monday decided to put an end to the practice of paid mercenaries indulging in heinous crimes such as murders by hacking or hurling country bombs and then making some individuals, including a few juveniles, surrender before judicial magistrates in far away districts just to prevent the police from conducting an effective investigation.
Justice N. Anand Venkatesh said he would pass detailed orders on the issue on March 8 and lay down guidelines to be followed by the Judicial Magistrates when individuals appear before them expressing their intent to surrender in connection with criminal cases that had been booked at police stations located outside the territorial jurisdiction of those magistrates.
The judge took the call after State Public Prosecutor (SPP) Hasan Mohamed Jinnah moved a lunch motion complaining about a Judicial Magistrate at Sathyamangalam in Erode district having accepted the surrender of four individuals in a case being investigated by Tambaram city police regarding the brutal murder of DMK functionary V.S. Aramudhan on February 29.
