Tamil Nadu government told the Supreme Court on Thursday that if the Sankararaman murder case involving Kanchi Shankaracharyas be transferred outside the state, it should be tried in Pondicherry.
The plea came before the SC reserved its verdict on the Sankaracharya's petition for transfer of the case outside Tamil Nadu.
However, the state government's stand was opposed by senior advocate, Fali S Nariman, who appeared for the seer before a Bench comprising Chief Justice R C Lahoti and Justice G P Mathur. He said the case should be shifted to nearby district of Chittore in Andhra Pradesh.
The contesting parties also filed the affidavits on the queries sought by the SC on the possible circumstances likely to arise if the case was transferred outside the state.
Apprehending that a large number of witnesses and the documents in Tamil may come in the way of the proceedings if the case was transferred to some other state, the Bench had asked them to respond to its concern.
The Tamil Nadu government provided details about the functioning of the courts in the state as the chargesheet in the case was filed on a holiday.
Sankararaman's widow has opposed the petition seeking transfer of the case outside Tamil Nadu. Her counsel had said since there were around 375 witnesses in the case and documents are in Tamil, the case could not be shifted to any other state to meet the convenience of some accused.