CHENNAI: Kancheepuram Principal District Judge Pa.U. Chemmal, has been transferred as chairman of permanent Lok Adalat in Ariyalur district with immediate effect. This follows allegations of abuse of power against the judge.
Deepthi Arivunithi, now serving as Principal Judge, Commercial Court, Chennai has been asked to take charge as the Kancheepuram Principal District Judge with immediate effect, according to a transfer notification issued by the High Court’s Registrar General S. Alli on Tuesday.
The Madras High Court has ordered disciplinary action against Kancheepuram Principal District and Sessions Judge Pa U Chemmal in Tamil Nadu after an inquiry found that he had misused judicial authority to act against his former personal security officer and a deputy superintendent of police because of personal animosity.
On Tuesday, Justice N Sathish Kumar directed the court registry to place the inquiry report before the vigilance committee of senior judges for action.
Kumar also directed that the inquiry report be placed before a transfer committee to move the judge out of Kancheepuram, stating that it was no longer tenable for him to continue there.
The case stems from a dispute in Walajabad town of Kancheepuram district in July between a bakery owner and a customer about an allegedly stale cake, the newspaper reported.
The bakery belonged to the father-in-law of Chemmal’s former security officer, R Lokeshwaran. The customer is a member of a Scheduled Caste.
The complaints registered by both sides in the case had been dismissed after the parties agreed to settle the matter amicably.
However, suspecting that Lokeshwaran was spreading rumours about him, Chemmal allegedly pressured the police to register first information reports against the security officer and his family under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act.
The judge had also allegedly verbally warned action against the police officers if they did not file a complaint.
On September 4, Chemmal also issued a suo motu externment order forcing Lokeshwaran’s family to leave Kancheepuram.
Externment is a legal mechanism that allows authorities to order a person to leave a specific area for a fixed period. It is usually invoked on the basis of past conduct, often involving criminal activity, with the aim of preventing future disturbances.
On September 8, the judge ordered the remand of Deputy Superintendent of Police M Sankar Ganesh, who was investigating the case, accusing him of failing to make arrests, the newspaper reported.
Chemmal ordered Ganesh’s remand under Section 4 of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act, which prescribes punishment for neglect of duty.
The High Court intervened on September 9, quashing the remand as “completely unwarranted”. The court also set aside the externment order, calling it inapplicable in the circumstances.
Justice Kumar observed that courts cannot compel arrests or invoke such powers without due process.
The inquiry by Registrar (Vigilance) Jacintha Martin confirmed that Chemmal had pressed the police to act against his former security officer’s family and pushed food safety officials to raid the bakery.
Kumar, after reviewing the findings of the inquiry, concluded that the judge had abused judicial power. “Appropriate disciplinary steps should be taken at the earliest opportunity.”
