Kodanad case: Court permits re-examining of key witnesses

UDHAGAMANDALAM: In a new twist to the Kodanad murder-burglary case, the Ooty sessions court has allowed re-examination of three crucial witnesses.

They are: One, the forensic officer who has already gone on record saying evidence at the burglary scene had been tampered with by the time he reached the spot at 7.30am on April 24, 2017. Two, an assistant engineer of TNEB, Kodanad division, who shall now explain how the whole area, which always had uninterrupted power supply, suffered ‘power cut’ during the offence; And, three, the manager of the estate, who might give details of things stolen during the burglary.

The Nilgiris sessions judge, C Sanjay Baba, gave permission for their re-examination after memos were filed on Friday. The court said that as there was no stay of proceedings by Madras high court, defence witnesses could be prosecuted on a day-to-day basis from September 2.
More importantly, when the case was taken up for hearing none of the 10 accused persons, except K V Sayan, were present in the court.

As unparliamentary words were exchanged in court hall, judge Sanjay Baba intervened and said counsel for both the sides should know they were in a court of law and they should maintain the decorum of the court.
Senthilkumar, counsel for Sayan, told TOI, “With the permission of the court, the prosecution can do trial on a day-to-day basis starting on September 2”.