CHENNAI: The criminal justice system lived up to the trust placed in it by the brave Anna University student who displayed admirable courage to file an official complaint against her rapist, A Gnanasekaran, within 24 hours of the incident.
The survivor, who was assaulted on her college premises, which thousands of students consider a safe space, was delivered justice in a span of five months. She remained fearless in the face of a vile threat by Gnanasekaran, who threatened to ‘leak’ the video of the rape, and proceeded to inform the authorities.
While the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the Madras High Court completed the probe and filed a charge sheet within three months, the Mahila court judge, S Rajalakshmi, held 31 hearings from March 7 to May 22 and delivered the verdict.
The state was represented by advocate MP Mary Jayanthi and they were able to prove the 11 charges against the accused using forensic and other evidence.
Advocate Sudha Ramalingam told TNIE that this is a perfect example of justice being delivered quickly and would inspire rape victims to come out and file complaints against the perpetrators; at the same time, it will also instil fear among the perpetrators against committing such crimes, as justice will be given speedily.
“This is what we have been talking about for ages. Justice delayed is justice denied. This shows that justice can be fast-tracked if the system wants,” she said.
However, sounding a word of caution, she said such quick investigation and trials are done only in high-profile cases where the victim is from a well-placed socio-economic background, crime occurs in an urban scenario and where there is a lot of pressure.
“Such quick justice should be ensured in all cases, even in rural areas,” she added.