After a delay of 118 days, the CBI has filed an appeal before the Madras High Court Bench here against a lower court verdict acquitting 17 persons, including a DSP, in the 2007 Dinakaran newspaper office attack case.
Stating that the Centre had taken time in granting permission to go in for the appeal, the CBI also filed a petition requesting that the delay be condoned. If the court decides to excuse the delay, the appeal would be taken up for hearing. The deadline for filing the appeal was within 90 days after the lower court gave its verdict.
A Division Bench comprising Justices M Chockalingam and M Duraiswamy issued noticed last evening to all the accused to reply to the petition for condoning delay and posted the case for hearing on August 2.
Three employees of the Tamil newspaper, owned by the Maran brothers-Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's nephews, lost their lives in the attack on the office on May 9, 2007 following the publication of a survey which gave an edge to Deputy Chief Minister and Karunanidhi's son M K Stalin over his brother Union Minister Alagiri to succeed their father.