Two men convicted in a ganja smuggling case shouted at Judge A.S. Hariharakumar and broke court windows after getting 12 years’ jail and Rs.1 lakh fine each. The courtroom turned chaotic after their outburst.
Madurai: After being convicted in a ganja peddling case, two siblings verbally assaulted the judge and police officers in the combined district court complex in Madurai on Thursday evening.
They also caused damage to the glass panes in the special court’s office while being escorted out by the police, according to sources.
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The siblings have been identified as A Pandiyarajan (23) and A Jacky, also known as Prashanth (22).
Along with Pandiyarajan’s wife, Saranya (20), they were arrested by the Keerathurai police for smuggling 25 kg of ganja in March 2024. On Thursday, after being presented to the 1st Additional Special Judge for cases under the NDPS Act, Judge AS Hariharakumar found them guilty and sentenced them to 12 years of rigorous imprisonment, along with a fine of one lakh rupees each.
This punishment was given under various sections of the NDPS Act, 1985, including Section 20(b)(ii)(C), which deals with possession and trafficking of commercial quantity of ganja, and Section 29, which is about criminal conspiracy to commit such offences.
One of the convicts shouted,
“You are not doing justice!”
Another screamed,
“We are being targeted for no reason!”
They also reportedly said,
“This is not a fair trial!”
Upon hearing the verdict, the enraged siblings vandalized the special court’s office as they left the courtroom. Despite being restrained, they continued to insult the judge and police, even threatening to kill the judge when they are released from jail.
The judge, A.S. Hariharakumar, firmly responded to the disruption and observed that “Such behaviour inside a courtroom is a serious contempt of court and cannot be tolerated.” The judge also made it clear that necessary legal action will be taken against the convicts for their actions under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 and also for damaging public property.
Fortunately, no court staff were near the windows at the time, so only the two siblings sustained injuries.
The Anna Nagar police are currently investigating the incident.
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