Petitioner blames cops for not obeying HC order

JUSTICE Swaminathan passed the ruling a few hours after a two-judge bench of Justices G Jayach-andran and KK Ramakrishnan, in an appeal filed by the TN government, upheld the single judge’s order dated December 3, directing the contempt petitioner Rama Ravikumar to light the deepam on the deepathoon with CISF protection.

- 

“The prohibitory order was passed only to nullify the directions given by the court so that the police would have a convenient reason to defy the court’s order,” Justice Swami-nathan had observed in his order. After the standoff continued for more than three hours, BJP leaders including Nainar Nagen-thran, Amar Prasad Reddy, H Raja and nearly 100 BJP supporters were detained and taken from the spot on police vehicles.

Rama Ravikumar told media that they waited for several hours for the police commissioner to come and take them to the hilltop, but they have been denied permission despite a specific court order. Claiming no law and order problem will arise if allowed to light the deepam, he blamed the police for not obeying the court order: