Chennai: Madras High Court today (Nov 23, 2004) took a serious view of the filing of a habeas corpus petition by a person claiming to be a close associate of arrested Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswathi seeking his release and said it would impose costs.

In the petition, one Wilfred Prakash sought a direction to the Tamil Nadu police to produce the Seer in court and set him at liberty.

In an interim prayer, he sought grant of bail to the Seer till the petition was disposed.

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When the petition came up for hearing, a Division Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice N Dinakar and Justice S Ashok Kumar told the petitioner's counsel to confine his arguments to the maintainability of the petition and enquired about the locus standi of his client to move the habeas corpus petition.

The advocate said the petitioner fell in the category of "next friend" of the Seer.

The Bench said merely claiming to be a friend was not enough. The petition had to have the consent and concurrence of the person sought to be released. An order from the court could prove counter-productive.

The judges said they were not here to interfere with the orders of the remand court and the High Court, which had been passed since the arrest of the Seer.

"Such things cannot be allowed to be continued. We are going to impose costs," the judge said and replied in the negative when permission was sought to withdraw the petition.

The court posted the petition to Thursday (Nov 25, 2004) for final orders.