SC stays Madras HC order on inquiry against TN Police in Anna University sexual assault case

The Supreme Court on Monday stayed an order by the Madras High Court directing the Tamil Nadu Police to conduct a departmental inquiry after a first information report in the sexual assault case of a student from Anna University was leaked, Live Law reported.

A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma was hearing a petition filed by the Tamil Nadu government seeking the expunction of the remarks made by the High Court about the police in the matter. The bench stayed the remarks and issued notice to the respondents in the petition.

On December 28, the High Court ordered the state government to pay Rs 25 lakh as compensation to the student who had filed a complaint after she was allegedly sexually assaulted inside the Anna University campus in Chennai.

The order came as the FIR based on the complaint was leaked, revealing the identity of the student. The police had earlier uploaded a copy of the FIR online, which contained the private details of the complainant, but later deleted it.

The leak had caused the complainant “trauma and humiliation”, the High Court said.

The High Court also constituted an all-woman Special Investigation Team to probe the sexual assault case. It criticised Chennai Police Commissioner A Arun for allegedly mishandling the probe and raised…

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