Shankaraman murder: Kanchi seers acquitted

A Sankararaman, the manager of the Varadarajaperumal temple at Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu, was allegedly murdered on September 3, 2004, in the temple premises.

Puducherry principal district and sessions judge CS Murugan pronounced the judgement after a trial which ran for over nine years.

The judge said that there was no incriminating evidence against the accused and that the witnesses failed to support the prosecution, reports said.

The trail was shifted from a Chengalpet court in Tamil Nadu to Puducherry by the Supreme Court in 2005 based on a plea by Jayendra, who alleged that the atmosphere in Tamil Nadu was not conducive for a free and fair trial.

A total of 24 persons (now 23) were charged as accused under various IPC sections including 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 120-B R/W 302, while Jayendra Saraswathi and another pontiff Vijayendra were cited as A-1 and A-2 respectively.

Another manager of Kanchi Mutt, Sundaresan, and Jayendra Saraswathi's brother Raghu were charged as co-conspirators.

The first six among the accused were charged under IPC Sections 302 (murder), 120-B and 109 (abetment).

Of the 24 accused, Kathiravan was murdered in March this year at KK Nagar in Chennai.

During the trial, 189 witnesses were examined between 2009 and 2012, of which 83 turned hostile.