Crl.O.P.Nos.30336 of 2014
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
DATED : 30.01.2020
CORAM
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE M.DHANDAPANI
Crl.O.P.No.30336 of 2014
Rev. Dr.S.Jayaraj Krishnan,
Executive Director,
Indian Christian Missions Centre,
Vasanthapuram Street,
Chinna Tirupathi post,
Salem-8, Tamil Nadu. ... Petitioner
Vs.
1.The Commissioner of Police,
Salem City,
Salem.
2.State by,
The Inspector of Police,
Hasthampatti Police Station,
Salem.
3.State by Inspector of Police,
CBCID,
Salem. ... Respondents
PRAYER: Criminal Original Petition filed under Section 482 of Cr.P.C., to
transfer the investigation in Crime No.408 of 2010 from the file of the 2nd
respondent to the Inspector of Police, CBCID, Salem the 3rd respondent herein.
1/4
http://www.judis.nic.in
Crl.O.P.Nos.30336 of 2014
For Petitioner : M/s.B.Kumarasamy
For R1 & R2 : M/s.C.Iyyappa Raj
Additional Public Prosecutor
ORDER
This Criminal Original Petition has been filed seeking to transfer the investigation in Crime No.408 of 2010 from the file of the 2 nd respondent to the file of the 3rd respondent.
2. The learned counsel appearing for the petitioner would submit that during the pendency of this petition, the 2nd respondent has conducted investigation and filed the charge sheet before the learned Judicial Magistrate No.III, Salem on 05.11.2014, but till date the charge sheet has not taken on file and the same is pending for the past six years. Hence, it would suffice, if this Court issues direction to the Trial Court to conduct the trial as expeditiously as possible.
3. The learned Additional Public Prosecutor appearing for the respondent 1 and 2 concede to the request made by the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner.
http://www.judis.nic.in Crl.O.P.Nos.30336 of 2014
4. In view of the above, this Court directs the learned Judicial Magistrate No.III, Salem to take the charge sheet on file and complete the trial within a period of six months from the date of receipt of a copy of this order.
5. With the above direction, this Criminal Original Petition is disposed of.
30.01.2020 Speaking Order/ Non Speaking Order Index: Yes/ No Internet: Yes/ No vv2 To
1.The Judicial Magistrate Court No.III, Salem.
2.The Commissioner of Police, Salem City, Salem.
3.The Inspector of Police, Hasthampatti Police Station, Salem.
4.The Inspector of Police, CBCID, Salem.
http://www.judis.nic.in Crl.O.P.Nos.30336 of 2014 M.DHANDAPANI,J.
1
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
DATE: 23.07.2019
CORAM
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE M.SUNDAR
W.P.No.21415 of 2019
&
W.M.P.No.20615 of 2019
Indian Christian Mission Centre (ICMC Trust)
Poovanur Village
Ayathiyapattinam Panchayat Union
Salem District
Pin – 636 122
Represented by its Managing Trustee
Rev.Dr.S.Jayaraj Krishnan ... Petitioner
Vs.
1. The Secretary to Government
Rural Development and Local Administration Department
Government of Tamil Nadu
Fort St. George
Chennai – 600 009
2.The Special officer/Executive Authority
Poovanur Village Panchayat
Ayathiya Pattinam Panchayat Union
Salem District ... Respondents
Writ Petition is filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of
India, seeking for a Writ of Mandamus directing the 1st respondent herein to
pass an order of exemption from levying ad collecting of house tax on the
petitioner trust sponsoring institutions namely, (1) St. Graham Memorial
http://www.judis.nic.in
Nursery and Primary School (2) St. Neva Miller Matriculation School, (3) St.
2
Graham Memorial Higher Secondary School, (4). St.Grace Lillian College of
Education and (5) St Bonnie White College of Nursing by virtue of Section 15
of the Tamil Nadu Panchayat Act, by disposing the petitioner's
representation dated 10.12.2018.
For Petitioner : Mr.Manoharan Sundaram
For Respondents : Mr.R.P.Pratap Singh
Government Advocate for R1
Mr.P.P.Purushothaman
Government Advocate for R2
ORDER
Mr.Manoharan Sundaram, learned counsel on record for writ petitioner is before this Court. Mr.R.P.Pratap Singh, learned Government Advocate accepts notice on behalf of first respondent and Mr.Purushothaman, learned Government Advocate accepts notice on behalf of second respondent.
2. With consent of learned counsel on both sides, main writ petition is taken up, heard out and is being disposed of.
3.It is submitted by learned counsel for writ petitioner that writ petitioner is a non-profitable non-Government organization and it is a charitable institution. It is submitted that it is serving downtrodden people. http://www.judis.nic.in
4.Subject matter of instant writ petition is levy of house tax under Tamil Nadu Panchayat Act, 1994 for the writ petitioner's immovable properties. As many as five properties have been enumerated and they are as follows:
1. St. Graham Memorial Nursery and Primary School;
2. St. Neva Miller Matriculation School;
3. St. Graham Memorial Higher Secondary School;
4. St.Grace Lillian College of Education; and
5. St Bonnie White College of Nursing
5. It is writ petitioner counsel's say that immovable properties used for following purposes are exempt from house tax:
'(a) Buildings set apart for public worship and either actually so or used for no other purpose;
(b) Choultries for the occupation of which no rent is charged and choultries where the rent is charged for the occupation is used exclusively for charitable purpose;
(c)Buildings used for educational purposes including hostels and libraries which are open to the public buildings used for charitable purpose of sheltering the Destitute or animals:
(d) Charitable hospitals and dispensaries and other buildings exclusively used for charitable purposes.'
6. On aforesaid basis, it is submitted that writ petitioner's properties are exempt.
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7. It is the case of the writ petitioner that under Tamil Nadu Panchayat Act, 1994 though writ petitioner's immovable properties are exempt from house tax (notwithstanding this position), house tax has been levied and demanded by the second respondent.
8.What is of utmost significance is, admittedly against the demand of house tax with regard to aforesaid properties, writ petitioner preferred earlier round of writ petitions in W.P.No.5816 of 2011 etc., before this Hon'ble Court and another Hon'ble single Judge dismissed the same by order dated 01.08.2018. Writ petitioner has now come up with this second writ petition stating that the aforesaid writ petition was dismissed on a erroneous appreciation of facts.
9. To be noted, writ petitioner has sent a representation dated 10.12.2018 to the first respondent and in this representation, following averment has been made:
'11.As Against the demand of house tax against our orphanage, we preferred a writ petition in W.P.No.5816/2011 etc., before the Hon'ble High Court, Madras and the same was dismissed by order dt.01/08/2018 on erroneous appreciation of facts.' 10 . Likewise, with regard to previous writ petitions in this Court, http://www.judis.nic.in the writ petitioner's stand as in the case file placed before this Court reads as follows:
'The 2nd Respondent panchayat levied and demanded the house tax / property tax on the petitioner trust institution and thereby the petitioner challenged the same before this Hon'ble court in W.P.No.5816/2011 etc. before the Hon'ble High Court, Madras and the same was dismissed by a common order dt.01.08.2018 on erroneous appreciation that these institutions are self-financing institution which are profit motive. In fact, the petitioner trust is running orphanage and orphans' students are pursuing their education from these institutions and the petitioner trust is not coming under the purview of self-financing institutions as it is really a public charitable trust.'
11. Learned counsel for writ petitioner made a fervent plea that the writ petitioner has now sent a representation dated 10.12.2018 to the first respondent (post dismissal of aforesaid writ petitions by another Hon'ble single Judge on 01.08.2018 and that there may be a direction to the first respondent to consider the same.
12. This Court is unable to accede to this request of the writ petitioner as the same issue has been canvassed by the writ petitioner in earlier writ petitions and another Hon'ble single Judge has dismissed the writ petition i.e., W.P.No.5816 of 2011 etc., vide order dated 01.08.2018 after hearing both sides. Therefore, writ petitioner cannot now be heard to contend before another single Judge i.e., this Court that the earlier order http://www.judis.nic.in came to be passed on an erroneous application of facts that the aforesaid institutions and the buildings where they are run are self-financing institutions for profit motive.
13. As a matter of judicial discipline, this Court refrains itself from entertaining the instant writ petition. The contention that is now being raised by the writ petitioner with regard to the earlier order made by another Hon'ble Judge, at best, qualifies as a ground for review and therefore, writ petitioner may have to go before the same Hon'ble Judge who passed the earlier order dated 01.08.2018 by way of a review petition.
14. Therefore, without expressing any opinion on merits, instant writ petition is dismissed holding that the second writ petition on the same issue cannot be entertained owing to dismissal of earlier writ petition in W.P.No.5816 of 2011 etc., on 01.08.2018 by another Hon'ble Judge.
This writ petition is dismissed. There shall be no order as to costs. Consequently, connected miscellaneous petition is closed.
23.07.2019 Speaking order: Yes/No Index: yes/no gpa To http://www.judis.nic.in
1. The Secretary to Government Rural Development and Local Administration Department Government of Tamil Nadu Fort St. George Chennai – 600 009
2.The Special officer/Executive Authority Poovanur Village Panchayat Ayathiya Pattinam Panchayat Union Salem District http://www.judis.nic.in M.SUNDAR, J., gpa W.P.No.21415 of 2019 & W.M.P.No.20615 of 2019 23.07.2019 http://www.judis.nic.in
vv2 Crl.O.P.No.30336 of 2014 30.01.2020 http://www.judis.nic.in
சேலம் இந்திய கிறிஸ்துவ மிஷன் சென்டெர் – பாதிரியார் -டாக்டர்.ஜே குழந்தைகளை செக்ஸ் டார்ச்சர்- ஊழல்
பாதிரியார் -டாக்டர்.ஜே
சேலம் இந்திய கிறிஸ்துவ மிஷன் சென்டெர்
http://www.icmcindia.org/index.htm
Children fall prey to Salems house of horror
Charges Of Sexual Abuse Against Staff Of Orphanage
R Vasundara & L Saravanan TNN
Salem: The Promised Land,a childrens home on the outskirts of Salem near Paruthikadu,is the antithesis of its eponymous Biblical reference.
The officials who run the institution through an organisation called Indian Christian Mission for Children (ICMC) not only use children of undisclosed origin to solicit funds,mostly from abroad,but have also been charged with physically and sexually abusing them while keeping them in squalid conditions.
While The Promised Land may be an extreme case of the many homes in Tamil Nadu where children are tortured and abused,the state has done little to put a check on such institutions despite specific rules laid own under the Juvenile Justice Act,2006 and the Orphanages and Other Charitable Homes Act,1960.
The states failure to guarantee a childs right to education,proper food,housing and clothing has led to the mushrooming of such homes across Tamil Nadu.The authorities rarely conduct mandatory periodic inspections.Officials granted The Promised Land in 2010 conditional registration for six months but it continues to function without any checks.
Malnourished children at the home are too scared to open up to the few visitors who are permitted within the home,located on a sprawling 120-acre site that is barricaded from the outside world by fences and all-intrusive employees.This correspondent had to pose as a person interested in making a donation to be allowed into orphanage that is owned and run by Reverend S Jayaraj Krishna.
Ramya (name changed),a seven-year-old,has been taught to tell everybody who comes to visit the home she lives in that she is an orphan.I have no parents and neither do my friends, she says,eyes sunk in an emaciated face covered with tousled hair. She lives with more than 20 other children in a shabby 8ft x 8ft matchbox room in a school building converted to a hostel.The children are forced to sleep on the floor without pillows or sheets.The single electric fan on the ceiling does not work.
The light and fan in our room almost never work, said one of Ramyas roommates.Its always dark in the rooms here at night.When we have to study we all go out into a playground,where a large lamp is switched on.
Krishna also runs four colleges and three schools,including one teacher-training institute in the same campus.Construction is underway on a hospital and a medical college all under Krishnas organisation,Indian Christian Mission For Children (ICMC).
The orphanage is off limits to locals and Indians,but foreigners and wealthy donors have limited access.When a donor visits,he can take any child out for the day and spend $50 on him, Krishna said.While the offer may seem generous,child rights activists say sending a child out with a stranger makes the child vulnerable to sexual abuse.
On July 2,an employee of The Promised Land was arrested for allegedly molesting a Class 8 schoolgirl in the hostel.
I asked one of the school officials if I could borrow his mobile phone to call my parents.He told me to meet him on the third floor at 8pm on Sunday, the victim told TOI.When I was on my way to the toilet at 4.30am on Monday,a group of four men blocked my path but I managed to escape.
A few years earlier,the family of one of the male students at the orphanage filed a complaint of sodomy against Krishna himself,but later withdrew the complaint.
Foreign volunteers have also stumbled upon other irregularities at the home.I sent money for a boy for two years, said Andrew,an American volunteer.I received three letters from the child.But when I visited the orphanage,I found he was missing.I was told he had left last year.
Jackson,another volunteer,says he stayed at The Promised Land campus for a week.I came across instances where children were given free admission and their records were used to gather donations.Later the home began demanding money from the parents on the threat of withholding the students transfer certificates.
According the district social welfare departments own records,it last inspected the premises in 2010.We have recommended the mission for a three-year registration, said M Akhilandeswari,the district protection officer at Salem.( T h i s i s t h e f i r s t r e p o r t i n a t w o – p a r t s e r i e s.N a m e s o f c h i l d r e n a n d v o l u n t e e r s h av e b e e n c h a n g e d t o p r o t e c t t h e i r i d e n t i t i e s ) -TIMES OF INDIA-Chennai 18 &9.12.2012
Donor gets shock of his life at Salems house of horrors
One Of The Girls Allowed To Go To School Once A Week,Says Briggs
R Vasundara & L Saravanan TNN
Salem: Jamie Briggs,who works with a church in Connecticut,US,was excited about his first trip to India.His destination was Salem in Tamil Nadu where he was to visit the Indian Christian Mission Centres (ICMC) orphanage-cum-hostel nicknamed the Promised Land.Their website gave the impression that they were looking after the children well, he said.
But when Briggs visited the home at Paruthikadu,he was shocked.I saw children working and doing all kinds of jobs around the place instead of going to school, he said.One girl was allowed to go to school only once a week.She was used to cook and clean. This prompted Briggs to lodge a complaint with the American director on ICMCs international board of directors when he returned home.The wardens hardly talked to the children;nobody taught them how to maintain personal hygiene and they were also beaten up, he told TOI.In a report published on Monday,The Times of India detailed the pathetic and unhygienic conditions of the home where the children lived.
The hostel children are engaged for various jobs,including coconut peeling and cleaning the mango groves, said Malliga (name changed),who worked there as an ayah (helper) for four years from 2007.The food served to the children was also far below standards.Lunch and dinner here is usually rice with sambar or rasam, she said.The children are not given any vegetables in the form of kootu or poriyal.They rarely get non-vegetarian food like chicken or mutton.Meat dishes are only given during Christmas and much of it goes to officials and workers.
Childrens illnesses are also neglected.Young children infected with scabies,fungal infection and fever were not given proper medical care, she said.They would be taken to hospitals only as a last resort when matters became critical.Instead the older inmates at the hostel took care of them. Malliga also alleged that sexual misconduct led to many female workers quitting their jobs.Many teenage girls and female workers are subjected to sexual harassment by the male staff members,wardens and workers there, she said.
According to police records,the leader of the organization,Reverend Jayaraj S Krishnan,was accused of sodomy five years ago.On July 2 this year,a female inmate,studying in Class 8,escaped from the hostel at 4am,alleging that four staff members attempted to rape her.An electrician was arrested,but later released when the case was withdrawn.
Refuting the allegations,Reverend Jayaraj accused local rivals of trying to frame him.Contradicting the allegations of negligence,child labour and physical abuse,he said,Sometimes children run away and when they are caught by the wardens,they threaten them.If anybody beats them up,we will sack them.
Records at the social welfare department office in the town showed that the home was last inspected in the year 2010.An inspection was done then for registering the home, said M Akhilandeshwari,protection officer for the district.Devaki,the probationary officer,who visited the home last week,prompted by activists,said,So far,they have never notified the child welfare committee about the orphans that they have taken in and even poor children. She admitted the living conditions were bad.
A building inside the Indian Christian Mission Centres orphanage campus in Salem
| ICMC’s Leadership |    |
| Rev. Dr. Jayaraj KrishnanThe Founder and Director of ICMC since 1988. An orphan himself he came to open the House of Peace Orphanage 23 years ago, caring for just twelve orphans. Two decades on he is now father to over 1500 desperately needy children. B.Com- Bachelor of Commerce M.Div- Master of Divinity- Philippines Ph.D in Theology- Dr. Jayaseeli Christy Wife to Jayaraj, is Secretary and Correspondent to ICMC and continues to be a main driving force behind the orphanages expansion. M.A- Master of Arts-English D.D Dr of Divinity Rev. David Livingston Jayaraj’s eldest son holds the position of General Manager of ICMC. His main role is to co-ordinate the purchasing of goods and food supplies fundamental to the running of the Orphanage. David holds several degrees from both Indian and American Institutions: B.A– Bachelor of Arts-English Madras Christian College-Chennai M.A– Master of Arts-English- Madras M.Div-Master of Divinity – Texas B.Ed– Grace Lillian College of Education M.B.A– Master of Business Administration Ph.D– Doctorate of Philosophy L.L.B– Law- Karnataka Dr. Neva Lily Esther Administrative Director and Doctor at the Promised Land M.B.B.S- Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery- Vinayaka Missions University P.G Dip in Diabetology- Annamalai University Rev. Basil Bright Additional Director B.Min- Bachelor of Ministry- Morling Baptist College- Sydney, Australia B.A- Bachelor of Arts-English Periyar University Promised Land ICMC has recently employed a Manager for the Promised Land- Miss Jemi Savithri- B.Lit-., M.A., B.Ed., Eden Garden Manager- Miss Gehzi- B.Sc., B.Th., The International Board ICMC is overseen by an International Board. The role of the board is to oversee all the activities and decisions made by ICMC. The current boardmembers are: Nicholas Wainright ( UK ) – ICMC International President John Jackson (US) John Van Bennekom (AUS) Marty Isaac (AUS) |
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