The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Monday transferred the investigation into the case of assault on a convict lodged in Tiruchi Central Prison by prison personnel to the CB-CID.
A Division Bench of Justices A.D. Jagadish Chandira and R. Poornima passed the order while hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by the convict’s mother, M. Angammal of Madurai.
The convict, M. Hariharasudhan, was sentenced to 14-year imprisonment by the First Additional NDPS Special Court in Madurai. He was lodged in Madurai Central Prison. After he applied for an ITI course, he was transferred to the Tiruchi prison.
The petitioner said her son was beaten with a lathi by Deputy Jailor Manikandan for lying in the prison cell on July 26. Subsequently, several prison personnel came there and attacked him, and he sustained serious injuries, she said.
She said when their lawyer visited the prison for an interview on July 28, he saw the injuries on her son. When her son was talking to the lawyer the prison personnel forcibly took him away without even allowing him to give proper instructions to the lawyer. She sought appropriate action against the prison personnel who had assaulted her son.
The court had directed the Tiruchi Principal District Judge, the chairperson of the District Legal Service Authority, to conduct an inquiry in the prison, and file a report. The court also sought a report from the Tiruchi Chief Judicial Magistrate.
As per the report, when Hariharasudhan was asked why he did not go to work, he replied sitting on the floor. The Deputy Jailor slapped him and asked him how he could reply without standing. It is said that the convict also slapped the Deputy Jailor. Thereafter, he was dragged from the block and assaulted.
The doctor’s report also confirmed that Hariharasudhan had sustained injuries and was referred to the prison hospital on July 27. Admittedly, it was a case of assault and ill-treatment of a prisoner by prison personnel, the court observed.
Published – August 11, 2025 09:41 pm IST
