Disqualified MLA P. Vetrivel has told the Madras High Court that a 20-second video footage which purportedly showed former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in a hospital bed, and released to the media a day before the R.K. Nagar byelection, was obtained by him from V.K. Sasikala, through her nephew T.T.V. Dhinakaran, in “February/March” 2017.
He made the submission in a petition seeking anticipatory bail. The advance bail was sought in a case registered against him at the Anna Square police station here following a complaint lodged by N. Panneerselvam, secretary to Justice A. Arumughaswamy Commission of Inquiry probing into the circumstances that led to Jayalalithaa’s hospitalization and the treatment provided to her.
Filing an affidavit in support of his petition, Mr. Vetrivel alleged that the complaint had been lodged with the intent of getting him booked under non-bailable provisions such as Section 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating) of the Indian Penal Code. He wondered how did the complainant come to the conclusion that the video was morphed without even conducting an inquiry.
A perusal of the complaint would clearly show that it “is made under the instructions of the ruling party Ministers, Deputy Chief Minister and Chief Minister,” he alleged. He also contended that the Commission of Inquiry should have recorded his statement before arriving at a conclusion with respect to the genuineness of the video footage.
Contending that the video released by him had no connection whatsoever with the R.K. Nagar by-poll, the petitioner said he was constrained to release it only because the Election Commission had failed to take action against a huge number of pamphlets distributed by ruling party cadres in the constituency blaming V.K. Sasikala for the death of Jayalalithaa.
The anticipatory bail application is expected to be listed for hearing before Justice R. Pongiappan during the Christmas vacation court sitting on Thursday.
Post Your Comments