Author: Times News Network
Publication: The Economic Times
Date: January 7, 2005
URL: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/983040.cms
Introduction: Nariman Rips allegations
against Kanchi Seer, says they are figment of police imagination
The Supreme Court asked the Tamil
Nadu Police to "pinpoint" evidence linking the Kanchi seer to the murder
of Sankararaman.
The direction from the apex court
came when the counsel for the Kanchi Shankaracharya sought to point out
contradictions in the evidence cited by the police against the seer.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice
RC Lahoti and justices GP Mathur and PP Naolekar, after hearing the counsel
of the Sankaracharya, Fali S Nariman, asked the prosecution counsel KT
S Tulsi to "pinpoint" the evidence against the accused "without dwelling
too much into the motive behind the crime".
This observation came after Mr Nariman
punched holes into the prosecution theory by saying the much-touted evidence
about a huge amount of money being withdrawn from ICICI Bank at Kancheepuram
by the mutt at the behest of the seer to pay the assailants was nothing
but a figment of the police's imagination.
He said no money was withdrawn from
the bank and, realising this, the prosecution is now saying that cash amounting
to Rs 50 lakh was obtained from the sale of land.
Mr Nariman said this money could
not have been paid to assailants in September as a mutt manager has stated
before a court that the money received from the land deal was deposited
in a bank in May last year, much before Sankararaman was murdered.
