SC refuses to give more time to 'Saravana Bhavan' owner to surrender for serving life term

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Tuesday declined to entertain a plea of P Rajagopal, the founder of South Indian food chain ‘Saravana Bhavan’, seeking more time on medical grounds to surrender for serving life imprisonment in a murder case.

A bench headed by Justice N V Ramana dismissed the plea of Rajagopal, saying his illness was not raised before it during the hearing of the appeal in the case.

Rajagopal was to surrender on July 7 to serve life term for murdering an employee in October 2001 to marry his wife.

Earlier, an apex court bench had dismissed appeals of nine convicts, including Rajagopal, and upheld the Madras High Court verdict awarding life term to them.

The high court had in 2009 enhanced to life term the 10-year imprisonment awarded by a local court to Rajagopal and eight others in the murder case.