MADURAI: The Madurai District Court recently acquitted an assistant professor of Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU) in a case registered against him by Nagamalai Pudukkottai police on charges of harassing female students by using caste slurs and sexually suggestive remarks.
The III Additional District judge for PCR cases, Madurai K Dhamodharan, acquitted him, citing that there is absolutely no evidence available on record to connect him with the alleged crime.
According to the prosecution, J Shanmugaraja, who is an assistant professor in the history department of MKU, was booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Woman Act on charges that he verbally abused a girl student, belonging to the Scheduled Caste, by using casteist slurs and inappropriate comments in the presence of other students. It was also alleged that he made sexually suggestive remarks during a smart classroom session.
However, the court noted that there is a total lack of independent evidence or eyewitnesses on record to support the charges, leaving the prosecution's case resting solely on the testimony of the complainant girl.
Noting that another case lodged by the professor against the complainant and her family members was pending, and the present case was registered shortly after the above case, the judge wondered if there was any malafide intent behind the present complaint.
Further observing that the investigation officer failed to unearth relevant facts in the case, the judge held that the prosecution failed to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt and acquitted Shanmugaraja from the charges.