Newspaper office attack case: HC warns CBI against further delay

Taking a serious view of long pendency of a plea against acquittal of all 17 accused in the 2007 'Dinakaran' newspaper office attack case, the Madras High Court Tuesday came down on the CBI for seeking adjournments.

A bench of justices P N Prakash and B Pugalendhi warned it would decide the matter on the basis of documents if the CBI further delayed the hearing.

It criticised the CBI for not taking serious steps in the last eight years to proceed with the revision petition against the acquittal of the accused in the case related to setting afire the office of the daily here in which three employees died on May 9, 2007.

The judges, who sought details from the court registry on long pending cases, found that the revision petition was pending and proceedings were affected as the accused did not get an advocate.

The bench appointed lawyer N Anandha Padmanabhan to represent the accused and posted the matter to February 26.

Of the 17 convicts acquitted by the district and sessions court ...