Madras High โCourt Upholds One-Man Commission to Investigate Chennai Conservancy Workers’ Protest, Questions Police Hesitation
Chennai, September 19, 2025 – The Madras High Court today refusedโข to interfere with theโ constitution of a one-man commission to investigateโ the arrest and alleged harassment of lawyers and law students who provided โlegal assistance to Chennai conservancy workers during recent protests. The court โsharply โquestioned why state law officersโฃ appeared hesitant about the commission’s formation,stating,”Why are you afraid of the commission? It โคwill only help you in bringing outโข the truth.”
The commission will be headed by retired Madras High Court Judge V. Parthiban. Itsโฃ formation stemmed from a habeas corpus โpetition (HCP) filed by advocate S. Vijay,alleging illegal arrest and harassment of those assisting the conservancy workersโฃ by police.
The caseโฃ saw a shift in benches, initially heard by โขJustice Ramesh, and later by Justices J.โค Nisha Banu and S. Sounthar. On September 9, the latter bench ordered theโ commission’s constitution be kept in abeyance until September 17, following a sub-application from the Greater Chennai Commissioner of Police to โขvacate theโ initial โSeptember 2 order.
During proceedings,the state’s request to appoint a judge from another state to lead the commission drew further criticism from the chief Justice,who โฃremarked,”Mr. counsel,what kind of submission is this? We will record in our order that the State has no faith in the retired judges of thisโฃ court.”
Meanwhile,12 women conservancy workersโข filed a separate โwrit petition on September 11,seeking an inquiryโ by the Stateโค Human Rights Commission (SHRC) and the Tamilโข Nadu Stateโ Commission for Women (TNSCW) into alleged human rightsโข violations and charges of sexual harassment during their detention on August 13.Theโ court granted the state until October 10 to file โa counter affidavit in โthis case and ordered it be jointlyโค heard with the HCP.
On September 17, the bench led by Justice Banu declined to extend the interim order and directed law officers to seek an earlyโฃ hearing from the Chief Justice’s Bench. Today, the Chief justice’s Bench insisted the commission commence its inquiry independently of the pending plea for โคan inquiry by the SHRC and TNSCW.