“Why can’t we order exhumation of the body of former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa,” Madras High Court on Thursday asked while hearing a PIL filed by AIADMK worker P.A. Joseph, raising suspicion over the former chief minister's death.
The vacation bench, comprising Justice S Vaidyanathan and Justice Parthiban, said "We also saw in the newspapers that the chief minister was recovering and that she was eating, signing papers and even conducting meetings. And then suddenly she was dead. Even we have our doubts about that."
The PIL had also sought the High Court to appoint a committee of three retired judges of the Supreme Court to examine the medical records of treatment given to Jayalalithaa.
Stating that the bench is not happy with the secrecy maintained around Jayalalithaa’s health, it pointed out that no revenue division officer (RDO) had seen the body, neither were there any medical records furnished and asked why wasn't there some proof of death furnished.
Recalling a similar situation in the late 1980s when the then chief minister M.G. Ramachandran was taking treatment both in Chennai and in the United States, it said “the government released video of the chief minister.”
The bench also issued notices to the Prime Minsiter’s Office and state and the central governments seeking explanation over the same and adjourned the case to January 9 for further hearing.
Advocate General of Tamil Nadu R Muthukumaraswamy, said the first bench of the High Court was hearing a similar PIL and it had been adjourned to January 4. Another PIL, filed in the same court on the same grounds, is coming up before the Supreme Court on Friday for hearing.