MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court cancelled the bail granted to three men who had been arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a minor girl by blackmailing her in Sivaganga in 2019.
Justice GR Swaminathan observed that the reasons given by the Sivaganga Mahila Court for granting bail to the accused are 'wholly unsustainable in law'. "I am afraid that the lower court had not taken into consideration the fact the victim is a minor," the judge criticised.
He also noted that the Supreme Court had made a distinction between cases where 'bail granted by the lower court is cancelled on the ground that bail conditions have been breached' and cases where 'bail ought not to have been granted'. "The present case comes under the second category," he added.
Pointing out that the victim is merely 14 years old, Justice Swaminathan said, "The accused preyed on her innocence. The victim was made to have sexual relationship with the accused, and they blackmailed and intimidated her."
Adding that the same is a crime against society, he cancelled the bail granted by lower court and directed the police to immediately secure the three accused. The order was passed on a petition filed by the Sivaganga police who sought cancellation of the bail granted to the three - Kaviarasan, Akash and Arunkumar - by a Fast Track Mahila Court in Sivaganga in November 2019.