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The Hindu
03-06-2025
- General
- The Hindu
Madras High Court judge, wife visit litigant's bed-ridden father at home to ascertain his mental condition
In an unusual gesture, Justice G.R. Swaminathan of the Madras High Court and his wife Kamakshi, a special educator, visited a litigant's 83-year-old bed-ridden father at his residence to find out if the octogenarian was suffering from any mental ailment as claimed by his elder son. The judge decided to go to the man's house at Kodambakkam in Chennai after taking into account that his production before the court would cause immense physical inconvenience to him since he had suffered a stroke in 2021, lost his ability to speak, and was being tube- fed since then. Plea for appointment Justice Swaminathan took his wife along with him since she was experienced in dealing with mentally ill persons. The decision was taken at the hearing of a case filed by Sivakumar Chellathurai in 2023 for appointing him as the manager of his father P.K.M. Durai's properties and permit him to dispose them of. The petition had been filed under Clause 17 of the Letters Patent which confers parens patriae jurisdiction on the High Court in respect of 'minors, lunatics and idiots'. The judge said that though such expressions could not be employed any longer, they continue to find a place in the statute. Leaving that aside, the judge found that the litigant had also filed a sub- application for a direction to his mother Kousalya Devi and younger brother C. Sabari Kumar to take his father to a hospital for follow-up and review. The applicant had asserted his father was mentally ill. Two words To ascertain if the assertion was true, the judge's wife wrote the words 'hospital' and 'home' one below the other on a piece of paper and requested Mr. Durai to point out his preference. Due to the difficulty in motor coordination, the aged man initially touched the word 'hospital'. However, when the judge asked if he wished to be shifted to a hospital, the litigant's father began weeping. Immediately, Ms. Kamakshi wrote the words 'home' and 'hospital' on two sides of the paper and this time, Mr. Durai touched the word 'home' and indicated by gestures that he was comfortable at home. 'Due to his physical condition, he was drooling. Whenever he drooled, he took his handkerchief with the help of his left hand and wiped the saliva. Whenever he cried, he also used handkerchief to wipe his tears. From all this, I could come to a clear and categorical conclusion that Thiru. P.K.M. Durai was suffering only from serious physical debilities. But his mental condition was rather good. By no stretch of imagination can Thiru. P.K.M. Durai be called as a lunatic-cum-idiot,' Justice Swaminathan concluded. After holding a detailed interaction with the mother and the younger brother of the applicant, the judge found that they both had no objection to the applicant visiting their home to see his father. 'No merit in the application' 'I am of the clear view that what Thiru. P.K.M. Durai requires now is loving care. If he is shifted to hospital, he would definitely suffer from loneliness. He may be confined in ICU. If he is at home, he will be surrounded by his immediate family members. He will have the company of his grandchildren. The interests of Thiru. P.K.M. Durai are paramount and I am more satisfied that there is no merit in the application,' the judge wrote. Despite observing that the main case filed by the elder son was itself not maintainable, the judge refrained from dismissing it, since a senior counsel engaged by the litigants was not present before him.
The Hindu
03-06-2025
- General
- The Hindu
Judge, wife visit litigant's bed-ridden father at home to find out his mental condition
In an unusual gesture, Justice G.R. Swaminathan of the Madras High Court and his wife Kamakshi, a special educator, visited a litigant's 83-year-old bed-ridden father at his residence to find out if the octogenarian was suffering from any mental ailment as claimed by his elder son. The judge decided to go to the man's house at Kodambakkam in Chennai after taking into account that his production before the court would cause immense physical inconvenience to him since he had suffered a stroke in 2021, lost his ability to speak, and was being tube- fed since then. Plea for appointment Justice Swaminathan took his wife along with him since she was experienced in dealing with mentally ill persons. The decision was taken at the hearing of a case filed by Sivakumar Chellathurai in 2023 for appointing him as the manager of his father P.K.M. Durai's properties and permit him to dispose them of. The petition had been filed under Clause 17 of the Letters Patent which confers parens patriae jurisdiction on the High Court in respect of 'minors, lunatics and idiots'. The judge said that though such expressions could not be employed any longer, they continue to find a place in the statute. Leaving that aside, the judge found that the litigant had also filed a sub- application for a direction to his mother Kousalya Devi and younger brother C. Sabari Kumar to take his father to a hospital for follow-up and review. The applicant had asserted his father was mentally ill. Two words To ascertain if the assertion was true, the judge's wife wrote the words 'hospital' and 'home' one below the other on a piece of paper and requested Mr. Durai to point out his preference. Due to the difficulty in motor coordination, the aged man initially touched the word 'hospital'. However, when the judge asked if he wished to be shifted to a hospital, the litigant's father began weeping. Immediately, Ms. Kamakshi wrote the words 'home' and 'hospital' on two sides of the paper and this time, Mr. Durai touched the word 'home' and indicated by gestures that he was comfortable at home. 'Due to his physical condition, he was drooling. Whenever he drooled, he took his handkerchief with the help of his left hand and wiped the saliva. Whenever he cried, he also used handkerchief to wipe his tears. From all this, I could come to a clear and categorical conclusion that Thiru. P.K.M. Durai was suffering only from serious physical debilities. But his mental condition was rather good. By no stretch of imagination can Thiru. P.K.M. Durai be called as a lunatic-cum-idiot,' Justice Swaminathan concluded. After holding a detailed interaction with the mother and the younger brother of the applicant, the judge found that they both had no objection to the applicant visiting their home to see his father. 'No merit in the application' 'I am of the clear view that what Thiru. P.K.M. Durai requires now is loving care. If he is shifted to hospital, he would definitely suffer from loneliness. He may be confined in ICU. If he is at home, he will be surrounded by his immediate family members. He will have the company of his grandchildren. The interests of Thiru. P.K.M. Durai are paramount and I am more satisfied that there is no merit in the application,' the judge wrote. Despite observing that the main case filed by the elder son was itself not maintainable, the judge refrained from dismissing it, since a senior counsel engaged by the litigants was not present before him.
The Print
21-04-2025
- Politics
- The Print
Why MDMK chief's son Durai Vaiko walked back resignation as principal secretary in 24 hours
A day before the meeting, Durai had resigned from the position of principal secretary, saying that he could not work in the presence of a person trying to 'destroy' the party. Chennai: Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) principal secretary Durai Vaiko has withdrawn his resignation after the party's administrative committee meeting, where his father, general secretary Vaiko, mediated the reconciliation between him and the deputy general secretary Mallai Sathya. 'The tension between the supporters of Sathya and Durai had been simmering for long, and it came to the fore after an internal party meeting on 12 April, where Sathya's supporters trolled Durai and Durai's supporters demanded Sathya's removal,' a source said. At the day-long administrative committee meeting headed by party chief Vaiko, all district secretaries of the party spoke in favour of Durai's leadership, with some even raising slogans against Sathya. 'But Vaiko did not want to give up on both of them. Although Durai had been demanding the removal of Sathya, Vaiko did not want to let him go as he stood with the party and its leadership in times of crisis,' a leader, who was present at the meeting, told ThePrint. Vaiko made Durai and Sathya patch up, and even made them sit next to each other. At the end of the meeting, Vaiko made the two shake hands, signalling the resolution of their differences and commitment to work together for their party. 'When two hearts can join, won't the hands join?' Vaiko said, bringing their hands together. After the meeting, Durai informed media persons about his decision to withdraw his resignation. 'There were some issues within the party and we had this meeting to discuss them. Our deputy general secretary (Sathya) has apologised for some of his actions that had caused disturbance within the party. He has assured us to work together and support me. Based on the assurance, I have withdrawn my resignation and will continue as principal secretary,' he said. At the meeting, the party passed nine resolutions, including key announcements on protests to demand withdrawal of Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025 and removal of Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi. (Edited by Mannat Chugh) Also Read: How AIADMK plans to convince its workers & voters to bet on alliance with BJP
