The Madras High Court on Monday wanted to know the status of the Multi Disciplinary Monitoring Agency (MDMA) constituted under the leadership of Central Bureau of Investigation, after the Jain Commission report, to probe into larger conspiracy behind the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
Justices N. Kirubakaran and V.M. Velumani raised the issue during the hearing of a habeas corpus petition filed by T. Arputham, mother of A.G. Perarivalan, one of the seven life convicts undergoing imprisonment for last 29 years for the assassination, seeking 90 days of leave since he was suffering from co-morbidities.
State Public Prosecutor A. Natarajan told the court that the agency was still active and it was continuing its probe. He said that in March 2018, the Supreme Court had taken note of a report filed by the MDMA on the probe. That report stated that efforts were on to interrogate people residing in Sri Lanka and other countries.
A Bench led by the then Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Justices R. Banumathi (since retired) and Mohan M. Shantanagoudar had directed the Centre to inform the court about steps that had been taken by it and those could be initiated through diplomatic channels for completing the probe by the MDMA as expeditiously as possible.
After hearing him, the Bench led by Justice Kirubakaran asked the SPP to place before the court by August 12 all details regarding the proceedings pending before the Supreme Court. The Bench also expressed its displeasure over the State government harping on technicalities and refusing to grant leave to the convict despite his health condition.
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