State hasn’t transferred murder investigation records to CBI, Armstrong’s wife alleges in SC

The Supreme Court on Friday orally asked Porkudi, widow of slain BSP Tamil Nadu president K. Armstrong, to file an application recording her allegation that the State of Tamil Nadu is not handing over the probe papers to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) despite a direction from the apex court.

Appearing before a Bench headed by Justice J.K. Maheshwari, senior advocate R. Basant, advocates Rahul Shyam Bhandari and G. Priyadarshini, representing Ms. Porkudi, submitted that the Sessions Court had released the accused on bail citing lack of records. “Your Lordships specifically directed that the CBI investigation must go on. Now, they are not handing over the papers to the CBI. The lower court is releasing the accused left, right, and centre on the ground that the papers are not there,” Mr. Basant submitted.

On October 10, the apex court had stayed a Madras High Court to quash the chargesheet in the case. It, however, had not intervened with the High Court’s direction to transfer the investigation to the CBI.

Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra and advocate Sabarish Subramanium appeared for the State, and advocate Yogesh Kanna represented Armstrong’s brother K.V. Immanuel.

The State had moved the apex court against the HC decision to quash the chargesheet. Mr. Luthra had further objected to the transfer of the probe to the CBI, arguing that it could not be done as a matter of routine by High Courts. He had submitted in October that the HC had been “swayed by extraneous considerations, including media narratives and prevailing political circumstances, ordering for de-novo probe and transfer of case to the CBI.

Armstrong was murdered at Perambur in Chennai by assailants, who approached him as food delivery agents, on July 5, 2024. A Special Investigation Team headed by the Joint Commissioner of Police had been constituted .The chargesheet submitted by the State Police had invoked multiple provisions of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Explosives Act, Armstrong Act, forensic reports, witness statements and other supporting documents.