Date:01/11/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/11/01/stories/2006110104820400.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

POTA detenues move High Court

Special Correspondent

Matter adjourned to November 16 They sought bail on the ground that they could not be held in custody endlessly.

CHENNAI: Ten detenues of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), who have been in jail for about four years now, have moved the Madras High Court for bail on the ground that they could not be held in custody endlessly.

A Division Bench — comprising Justice R. Balasubramanian and Justice S. Tamilvanan — which had ordered notice earlier, adjourned the matter to November 16 to enable the Q Branch police to file their reply. The petitioners are: A. Madhaiyan, A. Palaniswamy, M. Raja, P. Krishnan, K. Ravi, D. Martin, R. Gurusamy, R. Suresh, K. Raja and M. Durai.

The petitioners submitted that they were arrested on November 24, 2002 on an allegation that they were members of Radical Youth League. Their bail plea was rejected by the Special Court for POTA Cases in April this year.

No arms recovery

In the present appeal, the detenues submitted that no recovery of arms and ammunition were made from them on the date of their arrest. The seizure of some pipe bombs, allegedly on the basis of confession by one of the accused, was made after the expiry of the first remand period. It was illegal, he said.

The Special Court dismissed their bail on an "untenable ground" that a prima facie case had been made out against the accused, they said. "No previous cases are pending against the accused and they did not have bad antecedents," they said. "There is a prolonged delay of nearly four years and it cannot be attributed to the accused," they noted.

Counsel not yet

The petitioners also stated that no decision had been taken on their plea for appointment of counsel through Legal Services Authority.