Madras High Court Sets 9-Month Deadline For Trial In Custodial Death Case

The investigation, initially handled by the Tamil Nadu Police, was transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the directions of the Madras High Court.

05 Nov 2026, 05:14 · NDTV

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Madras High Court ordered trial completion in Ajith Kumar custodial death case within nine months
Ajith Kumar died after alleged custodial torture by police following temple theft complaint
CBI arrested six police personnel and charged 10 officers, including senior officials

What safety measures exist for the 146 witnesses?
Chennai:

The Madras High Court has directed the V Additional Sessions Court in Madurai to complete the trial in the Ajith Kumar custodial death case within nine months, emphasising the need for an expeditious conclusion in a case involving 10 accused police personnel.

The case stems from the death of 29-year-old B Ajith Kumar, a security guard at the Madapuram Badrakaliamman Temple in Sivaganga district. On June 27, 2025, he was picked up by a special police team after a woman, who had visited the temple with her mother, complained that 9.5 sovereigns of gold jewellery and Rs 2,500 had gone missing from her car.

Ajith Kumar was allegedly subjected to custodial torture during interrogation and died the following day. The alleged assault came into sharp public focus after a video surfaced showing him being beaten with a stick by cops in plain clothes, while two others stood nearby. The footage, recorded by a temple employee, triggered widespread outrage and brought the allegations of police brutality into the spotlight. A post-mortem examination reportedly found 44 injuries on his body.

The investigation, initially handled by the Tamil Nadu Police, was transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the directions of the Madras High Court. The CBI arrested six police personnel and filed an initial chargesheet against them. In December 2025, it filed a supplementary chargesheet naming four more police personnel, taking the total number of accused to 10.

The four additional accused included then Manamadurai Deputy Superintendent of Police N Shanmugasundaram, Inspector SP Ramesh Kumar, Special Sub-Inspector S Sivakumar and Head Constable G Ilayaraja. They had not been arrested during the CBI investigation.

After charges including murder were framed against them on September 10, 2026, the trial court remanded them to judicial custody. The four approached the High Court challenging the remand, arguing that they had cooperated with the investigation and regularly appeared before the court.

Dismissing their petitions, Justice P Murugan upheld the remand, observing that the accused police personnel could potentially intimidate witnesses or tamper with evidence.

Taking note of the volume of evidence, the High Court pointed out that the case involves 146 witnesses, 123 documents and 49 material objects. It directed all the accused to cooperate with the trial and left it open to the trial court to pass appropriate orders if they resort to delaying tactics. The V Additional Sessions Court has now been directed to conclude the trial within nine months of receiving the High Court's order. The CBI has already filed its initial and supplementary chargesheets.

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