In a first, HC hears case through Whatsapp

One-liner: For the first time in the annals of Madras HC, a judge has conducted a case through WhatsApp, and that too on a Sunday.

In Nagercoil: Justice G R Swaminathan took up the case while being stationed in Nagercoil, where he had gone to attend a marriage function.

Submission: This relates to the submission of the hereditary trustee of Shri Abheeshta Varadaraja Swamy temple about the divine wrath if the car festival was not held today.

Fervent prayer: This fervent prayer of the writ petitioner made me hold an emergency sitting from Nagercoil and conduct the case through Whatsapp, the judge said.

No objection: After the defects in the impugned communication are rectified, the procession can be conducted and the State may not have any objection, he added.

Order quashed: After quashing the impugned order, the judge directed the temple authorities to strictly follow the rules stipulated by the govt while holding temple festivals.

Flashback: Eleven persons were killed on the spot and 17 others injured last month near Thanjavur due to electrocution when a temple chariot came in contact with a high tension wire during a procession. 

Source: PTI