Madras HC sets deadline to complete the trial in IPS officer’s sexual harassment case

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    Madras HC sets deadline to complete the trial in IPS officer’s sexual harassment case

    Chennai: Madras high court on Monday set a deadline till December 20 this year to complete the trial in a sexual harassment complaint of a woman IPS officer in Tamil Nadu
    By HTC
    PUBLISHED ON AUG 03, 2021 12:39 AM IST

    Chennai: Madras high court on Monday set a deadline till December 20 this year to complete the trial in a sexual harassment complaint of a woman IPS officer in Tamil Nadu.

    The court directed the chief judicial magistrate of Villupuram to conduct the trial on a day-to-day basis. Justice Anand Venkatesh passed the orders in the suo moto writ petition he initiated on March 1.

    The alleged sexual harassment took place on February 21, when the woman IPS officer was travelling in the car of the special DGP of Tamil Nadu while they were on duty for former chief minister Edappadi Palaniswami’s tour. The superintendent of Chengalpattu was accused of colluding with the main accused and for using the police force to prevent the victim from entering Chennai to file the complaint. Both officers were suspended.

    On February 27, the CBCID in Villupuram district registered an FIR against the special DGP on several charges under the Indian Penal Code and the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act, 2020. Later, an FIR was also registered against the Chengalpattu SP. The Internal Complaints Committee submitted its preliminary report to the government.

    “Ultimately, in a case of this nature, the criminal proceedings must reach its logical conclusion at the earliest possible time by holding proceedings on a day-to-day basis,” the court said in its orders. “The effectiveness of the criminal justice system largely depends upon the completion of the proceedings at the earliest and certainty of either punishment or acquittal, as the case may be, of the accused persons.”

    The court also ordered for a compliance report to be filed on December 23. In case the Villupuram magistrate requires an extension of time, a memo could be filed before the high court for its consideration.

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