Chennai: Mystery continues to shroud death of former chief minister of Tamil Nadu J Jayalalithaa and evidently irked by the same, the Madras High Court, on Thursday questioned if the body of the former CM should be exhumed to bring out the truth, while issuing notice to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, State and Central governments among others.
Jayalalithaa, popularly known as Amma died on December 5 after 75 days of hospitalisation. Her mortal remains were cremated at MGR Memorial, Marina beach.
The vacation bench comprising Justice S Vaidyanathan and Justice Parthiban, hearing a PIL of AIADMK party worker PA Joseph, said: “We also saw in newspapers that the chief minister was recovering, and that she was eating, signing papers and even conducting meetings. And then suddenly she was dead. We have our doubts.”
Pointing out that no revenue division officer (RDO) had seen the body, neither were there any medical records furnished, the bench asked, “Why not, at least after her death, some proof was given”, and added that in 1980, when the then chief minister M G Ramachandran was taking treatment both in Chennai and in the United States, the government released video of the chief minister.
The bench then issued notices to the Prime Minister and the state and central governments. It adjourned the case to January 9 for further hearing. The PIL wants the high court to appoint a committee comprising three retired judges of the Supreme Court to go into the medical records relating to treatment given to Jayalalithaa.