HC bench quashes detention of DMK men

MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has quashed the detention under the Goondas Act of four DMK men including a close aide of Union Minister M K Alagiri, who were allegedly involved in the attack on the office of a Tamil daily in which three persons were killed.Allowing individial habeas corpus petitions, a Division Bench comprising Justice M Jaichandren and Justice S Nagamuthu held yesterday that there was "unexplained delay" in considering the representations made by the accused to the government with a plea to revoke the orders.Relying on various Supreme Court rulings, the court said the "unexplained delay in the disposal of the representation made by detainees amounted to breach of the Constitutional imperative and render the detention impermissible and illegal".While 'Attack' Pandi, a close aide of Alagiri, V K Gurusamy and M Ochubalu had been detained under the Goondas Act between Jul 28 and Aug 17, Kudamurutti' Arumugam had been detained under the Act on Aug 1.Three employees of Dinakaran, a Tamil daily, lost their lives in the attack on the office on May 9, 2007 following the publication of a survey that gave an edge to former Deputy Chief Minister and Karunanidhi's son M K Stalin over his brother Alagiri to succeed their father.