Bail plea stayed till Dec 10

In his reply, Tulsi said the motive played the vital role. The intention of the accused was to liquidate Radhakrishnan.

As regards the two years delay, Tulsi said it was unfortunate that police did not take adequate steps immediately. Another innocent person — Kanchi Varadaraja Perumal Temple manager Sankararaman — would not have lost his life. However, after the murder of Sankararaman the police diligently probed. The prosecution had sufficient material to prove the conspiracy hatched by the Acharya to eliminate Radhakrishnan. In 2001, anonymous letters were circulated to various authorities with regard to the functioning of the math. These bore the name Somasekara Ganapadigal. And it was believed by the Acharya and others that these letters were written by Radhakrishnan. At the instance of the Acharya, criminals and rowdies were engaged to liquidate Radhakrishnan, Tulsi said.

Anand and Lakshmanan were arrested and Radhakrishnan and his wife correctly identified them at an identification parade. In the confession made before a Magistrate, Kathiravan had implicated the Acharya in the attempt to murder case. He, however, retracted it after he had several meetings with a group of lawyers at the prison, the counsel said adding that such retractions were not uncommon.

The counsel also cited letters written and sent through registered posts by Radhakrishnan in April, 2004. In one letter addressed to various authorities including the investigating officer in the case, he had attributed the attack to the Acharya. He had been totally mistaken and identified as Somasekara Ganapadigal, in whose name the letters had been sent. In the last paragraph, he had also stated that there was a possibility of another attack on him.

The Acharya’s liberty should be curtailed to ensure courts dispense justice without hindrance, the counsel said.