All convicts in Kumbakonam fire tragedy freed

MADRAS: The Madras High Court has suspended the conviction and sentence of seven people in the 2004 Kumbakonam fire tragedy that claimed the lives of 94 school children, and modified the sentence awarded to two others. Division bench comprising Justices M Sathyanarayanan and VM Velumani also abated the sentence and conviction in the case of the wife of the school founder, who had passed away. The bench passed orders on the appeals set aside the conviction and sentence passed by the lower court in the case of school principal Santhana Lakshmi, Gajalakshmi, noon meal organiser, engineer Jayachandran, District Educational Officer R Balaji, personal assistant Sivaprakasam, supervisor Dhandavan and one Durairaj, an assistant.