Sankararaman murder case: Court adjourns hearing to August 31

PUDUCHERRY: A court here today adjourned to August 31 the hearing in the Sankararaman murder case in which Kanchi Sankaracharya Jayendra Saraswathi and his junior Vijayendra are the prime accused.

Principal District and Sessions Judge of Puducherry C S Murugan directed that all the 24 accused in the case,including the two seers should be compulsorily present at the next hearing.

Only eight out of the 24 accused were present in the case today and the absentees included the two seers, who have been charged under sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 302 (murder).

The Judge adjourned the case after Special Public Prosecutor N Devadoss sought time as the plea by Padma, widow of Sankararaman, seeking shifting of the trial from Puducherry to the Madras High court, was pending disposal.

Sankararaman, Manager of Varadarajaperumal temple in Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu, was murdered in the temple premises on September 3, 2004.

A total of 189 witnesses including Padma, her son and daughter were examined during the trial between 2010 and 2011. Eighty-three of the witnesses turned hostile during the trial, shifted here by the Supreme Court on a petition by Jayendra Saraswathi.