(1.) Seventy five advocates, practising in various Courts situated in Tamil Nadu, presented two petitions addressed to the Chief Justice of Madras High Court for cancellation of the bail granted to certain persons. It was further prayed therein that the Chief Justice might place the matter before a Division Bench of the High Court for its consideration. On 4-5-1998, the Chief Justice of Madras High Court directed the petitions to be placed before a Division Bench. Finally the matters came before the Division Bench consisting of T. Jayarama Chouta and V. Bakthavatsalu, JJ. Learned Judges held that those petitions, presented before the Chief Justice, are not maintainable and hence no proceedings could be initiated thereon. Accordingly, the Division Bench "closed the suo motu proceedings" by an order passed on 24-9-1998. The first among those advocates has moved the petition for special leave in this Court against the said order. Leave is granted.
(2.) The back ground for presenting the said petitions is a carnage which took place on 30-6-1997 at a village in Madurai District. In the gory episode six persons belonging to a Scheduled Caste community were done to death. One of the slaughtered persons was described as President of the local Panchayat Committee. The police arrested 34 persons in connection with the said massacre. Though initially they were not released on bail, subsequently by orders passed by Madras High Court in the months of March and April 1998, many of them were released on bail and that number reached 30. A brother of one of the deceased, in association with some other persons, submitted a representation to the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on 16-4-1998, pressing him to adopt steps for moving the High Court to cancel the bail granted to those accused for reasons which have been elaborated in the representation. But the Government did not favourably respond to it. It was in such a situation that appellant and his colleagues at the Bar filed the petitions before the Chief Justice of the High Court.
(3.) Learned Judges of the Division Bench formulated the following question: