The Tamil Nadu government informed the Madras High Court on Tuesday that all arrangements have been made to escort Murugan, also known as Sriharan, an ex-convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, to the Sri Lankan High Commission on March 13 regarding his plea for travel documents.
Murugan, a Sri Lankan national, is one of the seven convicts released by the Supreme Court in November 2022 after three decades of imprisonment in relation to the assassination of the former Prime Minister in 1991.
Additional Public Prosecutor R Muniyapparaj made the submission during the hearing of the petition filed by Nalini, who is also a former convict in the case and Murugan’s wife, before a division bench of Justices R Suresh Kumar and K Kumaresh Babu.
In her petition, Nalini requested a directive for the authorities to allow her husband, who was incarcerated at the Special Camp (Foreigners Detention Centre) in Tiruchirapalli, to appear before the Sri Lankan High Commission in Chennai on any working day between 09:30 to 15:30 hours and as and when required, accompanied by an escort, to obtain an ‘all-country passport.’ The couple intends to join their daughter who is currently residing in the UK. Nalini is an Indian citizen.
On March 8, the bench issued an interim order, directing the Trichy District Collector to promptly contact the High Commission within a day or two to schedule an appointment for the transaction of business concerning the acquisition of a passport or travel document for Murugan.
In its present order, the bench affirmed that, based on the statements provided in the status report submitted by the District Collector, the Additional Public Prosecutor has conveyed that all necessary arrangements have been made to accompany the petitioner’s husband to the Sri Lankan High Commission on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. Additionally, it was stated that upon concluding the business at the High Commission, Murugan would be escorted back to the Trichy camp by the police.
