The Madras Excessive Courtroom has ordered a Particular Investigation Workforce (SIT) to research the case of a 19-year-old engineering scholar who was sexually assaulted on the Anna College campus in Chennai.
The incident befell on December 23, 2023, when the survivor, a second-year scholar, was sitting in an open space along with her male pal.
The accused, recognized as 37-year-old Gnanasekaran, allegedly attacked the male pal earlier than dragging the survivor behind a constructing and sexually assaulting her. The police arrested the accused after the survivor filed a grievance.
The Madras Excessive Courtroom, led by Justices SM Subramaniam and V Lakshminarayan, responded to the case with robust measures.
The court docket criticized the Tamil Nadu Police for critical lapses, notably concerning the general public disclosure of the survivor’s id within the First Info Report (FIR) accessible on the police web site.
In mild of those errors, the court docket ordered the Tamil Nadu authorities to supply interim compensation of ₹25 lakh to the survivor. Moreover, the court docket instructed the police to make sure safety for the survivor and her household.
Formation of SIT and Investigation Lapses
The court docket additionally took motion by ordering the formation of a Particular Investigation Workforce (SIT) to deal with the investigation. The SIT is to be comprised of three officers from the Indian Police Service (IPS).
The bench famous that there have been important lapses within the preliminary dealing with of the case, and the investigation was not continuing because it ought to have been. The choice to kind an SIT underlines the seriousness with which the court docket views the case.
Criticism of FIR and Sufferer Blaming
A big facet of the court docket’s ruling was its criticism of the language used within the FIR. The FIR contained particulars that the court docket described as “sufferer blaming.”
The survivor had alleged that the accused recorded intimate moments between her and her boyfriend, after which threatened to share the footage along with her household and faculty authorities.
The court docket deemed this language “deplorable,” stating that it contributed to sufferer shaming and psychological misery for the survivor.
The bench expressed shock at how the FIR had been drafted, suggesting that it resembled one thing one may discover in a boys’ hostel, crammed with judgmental assumptions in regards to the survivor’s actions.
The court docket emphasised that the FIR violated the survivor’s rights to dignity and bodily autonomy, as assured below Article 21 of the Indian Structure.
Nationwide Fee for Ladies’s Intervention
The Nationwide Fee for Ladies (NCW) additionally took instant motion after the incident. The NCW condemned the assault within the strongest doable phrases and expressed assist for the survivor in her pursuit of justice.
Taking suo motu cognizance of the case, the NCW fashioned a fact-finding committee to research the small print of the assault.
The fee highlighted that the accused had a historical past of prison habits and recommended that the negligence of the Tamil Nadu Police had emboldened him to proceed his prison actions.
The NCW additional directed the Tamil Nadu DGP to make sure that the survivor obtained medical care and safety. It additionally really useful including Part 71 of the BNS Act, 2023, to the FIR to impose stricter penalties on the accused.
The NCW emphasised the necessity for accountability at each stage, particularly in mild of the police’s mishandling of the case. It referred to as for motion towards officers who publicly revealed the survivor’s id, which is a violation of Supreme Courtroom pointers.
