Constitution of inquiry commission to probe Jayalalithaa death challenged in Madras HC

A writ petition has been moved in the Madras High Court by AIADMK member PA Joseph, challenging the recent constitution a committee to probe into the death of former Chief Minister, J Jayalalithaa..The matter was mentioned by Senior Advocate KM Vijayan before the first bench of Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice M Sundar..On September 25, incumbent Chief Minister E Palaniswamy had announced that an inquiry commission headed by retired high court judge A Arumugaswamy would be constituted to probe the death of the former Chief Minster..The main ground for challenge in Joseph’s petition is that the inquiry commission was constituted by the government without following the mandatory provisions under Section 3 of the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952..As per this provision, if the appropriate government is of the opinion that a commission has to be constituted to inquire into a definite matter of public importance, a resolution to form the commission has to be passed by both Houses of Parliament. The procedure for passing such resolutions can be found in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Rules..Joseph points out that he has already moved a petition, currently pending before the high court, which calls for the constitution of an inquiry commission in compliance with these provisions. In his earlier prayer, he has asked that three retired judges of the Supreme Court head the commission so constituted..He has also referred to the doubts raised by the judges on hearing his earlier petition, regarding Jayalalithaa’s death. In this context, he has reiterated that the public has the right to know in light of various contradictory accounts..It has been contended that the recent inquiry committee has been constituted by the state with malafide intentions of assailing the earlier writ petition. Further, he has argued that since the present state representatives were also involved in whole episode of hospitalisation, treatment and death of the former Chief Minister,.“there is every possibility of influence, pressure, bias when it comes to a commission constituted by the state government themselves….the present commission can’t be expected to do an independent inquiry, for the reasons that the present inquiry is clearly an in-house inquiry and there is every possibility of bias and likelihood of tampering of records.”.On these grounds, it is argued that the appropriate solution would be to constitute an independent inquiry commission with the involvement of the Centre, as prayed for in the earlier petition. The petitioner has also called for the inclusion of investigative agencies in the probe, which he argues, has been ignored by the state in the constitution of its commission..Read writ petition filed below.