In the sensational Sankararaman murder case, all the accused including the seers of Kanchipuram Sankara Mutt, Jayendra Saraswathi and Vijeyendra Saraswathi were acquitted today . Pronouncing the judgement, Puducherry District and Sessions Judge CS Murugan said the witnesses failed to substantiate the prosecution case. There were 24 accused in the case of which one was murdered early this year.

Sankararaman, manager of the Sri. Vardarajaperumal Temple of Kanchipuram was murdered in the temple premises in 2004. Kanchi seers were the prime accused in the case. The trial which lasted 9 years was shifted from Chengalpet Court in Tamil Nadu to Puducherry on the direction of the Supreme Court on the plea by the senior Sankaracharya that the atmosphere in Tamil Nadu is not conducive for a free and fair trial.
Of the 189 witnesses in the case 83 including the lone approval turned hostile during the course of the trial.