Confidential report on Devananda to Madras High Court

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 October 2010, 13:20 GMT]
A lower court in Chennai handed over a confidential report to the Madras High Court related to a 1994 order declaring Sri Lanka minister Douglas Devananda a “proclaimed offender” in connection with a murder case in Chennai in 1986, Press Trust of India reported Wednesday. Douglas Devananda had filed a petition in August seeking to set aside the lower court order declaring him as a proclaimed offender treating him as an absconding accused, it further said. Consequently Justice G. M. Akbar of Madras High Court had called for a report from the trial court on 22nd September 2010.

An organization in Tamil Nadu had filed a petition seeking the arrest of Dougals Devananda when he visited as a member of the Sri Lankan delegation to India led by Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa in June 2010.

Douglas Devananda, however, had claimed that he was covered by immunity offered as part of the Indo-Sri Lankan accord of 1987. Mr. Devananda argues that since persons belonging to outfits like EPDP were expatriated to Sri Lankan State from India to "facilitate" the agreement between the two States.

Following the murder of a person in Chennai on 1 November 1986 a case had been registered against Douglas Devananda and nine others belonging to his organisation, the EPRLF, at that time. They were all declared proclaimed offenders by the lower court.

Chronology: