TN school girl's death: SC turns down father's plea to include Doctor of choice in postmortem

Chennai: The Supreme Court did not agree to the plea of a man, whose 17-year-old daughter was found dead at a private residential school in Tamil Nadu, that a doctor of his choice be permitted to be part of a team of experts ordered by the Madras High Court to conduct a fresh postmortem on her body.

The death of the class 12 girl on July 13 on the premises of the residential school sparked off violence in certain areas of Kallakurichi district in Tamil Nadu.

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The Madras High Court, while taking strong note of violent incidents, had directed the state police chief to constitute a special investigation team (SIT) to identify the rioters and take stern action against them. 

It had also ordered a re-postmortem on the body of the girl. But a plea from the victim's father to include a doctor of his choice to participate in the re-postmortem was turned down.

A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana was urged by the father of the girl to let a doctor of his choice be included in the team of experts and his plea against the high court's direction be listed for urgent hearing.

"Please stay the re-post mortem ordered by the high court, it will be held today," the counsel for the father said.

"The high court has constituted a panel of doctors for conducting the post-mortem. Don't you trust the high court," the bench said, adding "Sorry. We don't allow that".

The top court, however, agreed to hear the plea of the father against the high court order on July 21.

The high court, while ordering the setting up of the SIT to probe violent incidents in areas close to the private school in the Kallakurichi district, had also said that appropriate criminal action should be taken against the rioters following the investigation.

Protests against the death of the class 12 girl student on Sunday turned violent, witnessing arson while some police personnel sustained injuries.

The police should control such incidents with an iron hand and take stringent action against the rioters, the judge said while passing interim orders on writ petitions from P Ramalingam, the father of the deceased girl.

Granting one plea of the petitioner, the high court ordered a re-post-mortem on the girl's body.

The other plea was to order the transfer of the case to the CB-CID. State Public Prosecutor Mohammed Hasan Jinnah had told the high court that the state government had already transferred the case to the probe agency. The investigation was going on and several persons had been arrested, he had added.

The high court had said the post-mortem should be conducted by a team of three doctors to be appointed by it and it must be video graphed. If he wants, the girl's father can also be allowed along with his counsel, the HC judge had added. The 17-year-old girl, studying Class 12 in a private residential school in Chinnasalem's Kaniyamoor area in Kallakurichi, was found dead on July 13 on the hostel premises.

The girl, an inmate of a room on the third floor of the hostel, was suspected to have ended her life by jumping to the ground from the top floor.

Reportedly, a postmortem report indicated that she had sustained injuries before her death. Police registered a case and initiated a probe. 

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