Man dies after setting himself on fire at Madras HC – India Today

A man dies after setting himself on fire at the Madras High Court. The man was reportedly struggling to get a community certificate.

The Madras High Court took a suo motu cognisance after a man set himself on fire.

By Pramod Madhav: A man who set himself on fire at the Madras High Court died on Wednesday. The man took the step after reportedly struggling to get a community certificate for his son.

Velmurugan (49) from Tamil Nadu’s Kancheepuram wanted a community certificate as ‘Malaikuravar’, which falls under the category of the Scheduled Tribe.

Velmurugan had self-immolated on Tuesday after being unable to get the certificate. He was admitted to a hospital with a 95 per cent burn injury.

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Taking a suo motu cognisance of the matter, Justice Subramanian stated that several irregularities had been brought to court notice in issuing community certificates.

He stated that the court has to examine whether the right of the deceased and his son was infringed.

Justice Subramanian stressed that the incident couldn’t be left unnoticed as it would result in serious repercussions.

The court directed the registrar general to number the writ petition, taking the Commissioner of Revenue Administration, Chepauk, and Kancheepuram district collector as respondents in the suo motu writ before the acting Chief Justice T Raja.

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