Face of Nation : The Supreme Court today denied a plea by P Rajagopal, owner of the Saravana Bhavan chain of restaurants, to delay the start of his life sentence on grounds of ill health. A bench headed by Justice NV Ramana dismissed the plea and asked, “If he was so ill, why did he not indicate illness even for one day during hearings of his appeal?”
Rajagopal had been granted bail by the Supreme Court in 2009 but had to surrender by July 7. However, he moved the Supreme Court again yesterday, saying he had been hospitalised and needed more time.
In 2004 P Rajagopal was convicted in the 2001 kidnapping and murder of an employee, Santhakumar. A local court had sentenced Rajagopal and eight others involved in the murder to 10 years in prison. Five years later the Madras High Court upheld the verdict and increased the sentence to life in prison, a punishment upheld by the Supreme Court in March this year.
The prosecution had argued that Rajagopal plotted the murder of Santhakumar so he could marry his wife, Jeevajothi
The case, which has attracted considerable attention both in India and abroad, goes back to the 1990s, when Rajagopal wanted to marry Jeevajothi, the daughter of an assistant manager at Saravana Bhavan’s Chennai branch.
Days after the couple went to the police, Santhakumar was kidnapped and killed. The Saravana Bhavan employee’s body was found at Perumalmalai in the Kodaikanal forests.
Saravana Bhavan, a well-known restaurant chain, has outlets in 20 countries including the US, the UK, France and Australia. There are 25 restaurants in India including in Delhi.
