Pollachi case: Madras HC orders arrest of all accused

CHENNAI: Arrest all the accused, if not arrested already, in the Pollachi sexual harassment case and commence trial by September 1, the Madras high court directed CBI on Wednesday, adding that the trial should be held on a day-today basis.
Justice M Dhandapani, declining to release an accused on bail, also directed the Coimbatore Mahila Court to conclude the trial within 6 months from the date of its commencement. He also directed the trial court to conduct in camera proceedings, whenever necessary, and conduct the trial on day-to-day basis. Justice Dhandapani directed the Tamil Nadu government to initiate appropriate departmental action against police officers who had disclosed the identity of a victim to the media during the initial stage of the investigation.
He also acknowledged Tamil Nadu public prosecutor Hasan Mohamed Jinnah’s offer to assign a woman superintendent of police J Mutharasi as special officer to assist the CBI in prosecuting the accused. The sexual assault racket involving several innocent women who got caught in a racket and captured on camera as we unfolded in 2019, shocking the whole state.
On Wednesday, giving the pending case a much-needed fillip by issuing a series of directions, Justice Dhandapani directed the CBI to take all earnest efforts to commence the trial by September 1 and to arrest all the accused if not apprehended already.
The expeditious and judicious disposal of cases of this nature by the courts alone could infuse a semblance of safety in the minds of the common man that the justice delivery system will step in to fill up the lacunae to not only render speedy justice but also see to it that the persons, who perpetrate heinous crimes are dealt with iron hands, Justice Dhandapani said. The judge issued the directions while dismissing the bail plea of an accused, K Arulanantham.
Earlier, prosecutor Jinnah said the state would depute a special officer to help the CBI. “For assisting the CBI in the conduct of investigation, the state government, on its own volition, has decided to assign J Mutharasi, superintendent of police, CBCID-Unit-2, as a special officer to assist the CBI in prosecuting the trial against the accused,” he said.
When the bail Arulanantham’s bail plea came up for hearing, CBI special public prosecutor K Srinivasan said witnesses and victims in the case should be provided due protection under the Witness Protection Scheme, 2018.
To this, public prosecutor Jinnah informed said Tamil Nadu was ready to provide such protection under the scheme and the necessary resources for the same.
On his part, Justice Dhandapani said: “Mahatma Gandhi envisaged a day when women could walk without any fear during night hours. However, the pathetic situation now is that the women are not able to move out without fear even during day time as their security and safety are at peril at the hands of anti-social elements.”
He further said: “Anti-social elements who prey on the women folk to satisfy their lust as is reflected in this case, thereby rendering the independence attained through blood sweating of our freedom fighters an effort in vain.”