Days after crucial excerpts from the Justice Aruna Jagadeesan Commission on the 2018 Thoothukudi firings were published in the media, activist Henri Tiphagne, Executive Director at People’s Watch, urged the Tamil Nadu government to table the report in the state Assembly. Speaking to TNM, Henri said it is paramount that the DMK government do this at the earliest. He also demanded that the government suspend all the police officers named in the report and initiate disciplinary action against them.
Fourteen people were killed due to the police firing in Thoothukudi in May 2018 during the anti-Sterlite protests. The Justice Aruna Jagadeesan Commission of Inquiry submitted its final report to Chief Minister MK Stalin on May 18, 2022. The report indicts several high-ranking police officials for use of excessive lethal force and lack of coordination, and recommends criminal and departmental inquiry against them. Henri Tiphagne spoke to TNM on the report, its importance, the CBI’s contradictory findings, and more.
Yes, well done by a very senior, mature, responsible journalist from Tamil Nadu. I appreciate not only the fact that he made it available to the public in this era of Right to Information (RTI) along with all the relevant information he got from his source, he also ensured that the publication made it freely available and downloadable by all and sundry in the state.
Therefore, this is a real expression of Freedom of Expression. The rights of a journalist as well as RTI was maintained for all to enjoy.
First, the government’s task is to ensure that this report is placed as early as possible before the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly and, if need be, call for a Special Session. Calling a Special Session alone will show that this government is taking the report seriously. Once the report is placed, the government will have to provide an Action Taken report.
The Law Minister has gone on record saying that he will do this. But he also said in the same breath that the report has already been sent to various departments – that, I think, is wrong. Because if there was any indictment of any officials, particularly of policemen, in the report, then the same being sent to the department will only assist them in ensuring that they obtain legal opinions for their protection in the future.
They should place every officer named in this report, whether they are IAS, IPS, revenue officials or whoever they are, under suspension immediately, and initiate disciplinary proceedings. Because if this is not done, then there is no deterrent at all to any government servant in continuing to do or being subjected to such orders which allowed them to do what they did (in Thoothukudi).
I’m sure they have already started doing this, that’s why in my previous response I mentioned the Law Minister’s statement. We know fully well from incidents in the recent past, for example the Vignesh custodial death case and the handling of the Kallakurichi protests. There are enough indications of the police not doing what they are expected to do and covering up their actions thereafter. This is not done within the police force itself; it is also being done at the instructions of their godfathers within the larger family of MK Stalin.
That’s very serious, and I would like to remind the Honorable Chief Minister: that he enjoys the trust of the people in the state and therefore he has to live by his own commitment made before the day of the elections, where he said that “even if a member of my family interferes in any process, I will not support them”. If there are interferences from within the family, I wish he presents himself as a true statesman and takes action, however highly placed the official is, and demonstrates that he practises what he actually said.
Yes, both the reports are contradictory to one another. It is therefore important to ensure that the extra evidence that has been mustered by Justice Aruna Jagadeesan – on the basis of people who deposed before her, witness statements – is taken into consideration by the government and act on it. The initial action can be invoking disciplinary proceedings against them by placing them under suspension, but then criminal action will have to follow.
After three years of investigation, the CBI has found only one police officer, DSP Lawrence, guilty. What he has been found guilty of is yet to be seen because we haven’t been able to lay our hands on the final chargesheet submitted by the CBI. This is on the basis of the complaint preferred by CPM’s Arjunan. Therefore, the copy of that final report will have to be served on Arjunan, and I’m sure that he and his party will ensure that there is a protest petition filed. But the fact is, after all the reports and all the investigations that the CBI had at their command, to imagine that they have stooped so low to only be able fix criminal responsibility on one police officer makes it a big joke. I’m sorry to use this word, but we say it with great responsibility.
No, the state government cannot order independent criminal action in this matter because the CBI was already directed by the High Court on August 14, 2018 to undertake this investigation. The agency has investigated the public and their role in the [Thoothukudi violence], and zeroed in on 102 individuals after three chargesheets – two supplementary chargesheets were filed. On the other hand, it has found only one person guilty on the police side.
Now that the CBI has filed a chargesheet on the police officer – which is pending before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Madurai – it’s the responsibility of the government to ensure that they file a petition, a very detailed petition, based on the evidence brought out by Justice Aruna Jagadeesan, and ask the court to direct the CBI under section 173 (8) – sub clause 8 – of the Criminal Procedure Code to investigate the matter further based on the revelations.
In case the CBI for some reason says they have completed their job and they don’t have anything else to do, then the option opens up to the government, in my humble opinion, to approach the Madras High Court – Madurai Bench – and say that the CBI does not want to investigate further and therefore, the government would like to appoint an independent Special Investigation Team to probe the role of the police and revenue officials, based on Justice Aruna Jagadeesan’s revelations and observations.
My first response is, such commissions need not be appointed these days. After a statutory commission was constituted in 1993 under the Protection of Human Rights Act, you have the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) at the national level; under the state level, you have the State Human Rights Commissions. It is the duty of the State Human Rights Commission to investigate such gross human rights violations. Or to conduct it jointly, or independently by the NHRC.
Unfortunately, in this case, the NHRC, which has made itself a great joke in this country and globally, where there have been 14 deaths, where there were 8 UN Special Rapporteurs who issued a public statement on May 30, 2018 condemning this incident and calling for a very transparent effective public hearing and investigation into this matter… the NHRC closed this complaint on Octob
er 25, 2018, and holds on to that position even today, when that order has been challenged before the Madras High Court in a petition that I filed.
Therefore, these days, commissions of inquiry are not required. What is required is effective investigation by national and state human rights institutions. What the government could have done is provided an extra team of senior police officers and others to assist the State’s Human Rights Commission. But instead, they did the usual eye-wash of appointing a retired judge. They have also failed to be objective because there was a change in government recently.
So the findings are for the people to rejoice. But this is not evidence on the basis of which people can straightaway be prosecuted. Investigations have to be initiated on the findings of the report. People have to be examined on that basis. It can go a little faster because the job’s already been done. And then, prosecutions need to follow. But the collectors, revenue officials, IPS officers, DSPs, inspectors, etc. who have been indicted – including the IG who’s been indicted – have necessarily to be taught a lesson.
Well, this is what we see. And I don’t think our senior journalist would have misled us in that, but these are also the limitations of the Commission. But I would not agree. I would not even agree that it was only people from the IG level (and) below who are culpable in this. I’m sure there are people above the collector and people above the IG. Either in service or out of service, but someone was guiding them on exactly what was to be done and not to be done. And it is on their instructions that several omissions and commissions have taken place in this matter.
I don’t say this in a rejoicing mood, I say it in a very sober and sad mood, because that is the state of the law today in our country.
More from TNM's series of stories on inquiry commission's report, demands of angry families and activists:
Read: ‘Take criminal action against police’: Families of Thoothukudi shooting victims