The Madras High Court on Monday dismissed a public interest litigation that sought to declare the death of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa as suspicious, ANI reported. The petitioner had also asked the court to order an inquiry into the cause of her death.
The court told the petitioner to consult the one-person panel that had been appointed to study the possible causes of her death. “When the state government has already appointed a one-man commission to find out the causes of the death, this court cannot entertain such pleas,” Justice MV Muralidharan said, according to The Times of India. The judge added that none of the former chief minister’s relatives have moved the court with a similar plea.
In September 2017, The Tamil Nadu government had set up a Commission of Inquiry under Justice A Arumughaswamy after state ministers made contradicting claims about their access to Jayalalithaa while she was hospitalised. The commission was asked to “inquire into the circumstances and situation leading to the hospitalisation of Jayalalithaa on September 22, 2016, and the subsequent treatment provided to her till her demise on December 5, 2016”.
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