VILLUPURAM: Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in Villupuram on Monday summoned the complainant woman IPS officer and her husband to give witness on November 11, in the sexual harassment case against the special DGP (suspended).
On Monday, charges were framed against the first and second accused in the case -- the special DGP and the SP (both under suspension). Meanwhile, the counsel for the special DGP (suspended) demanded to frame the charges under either IPC Section 354 (a) or Section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, as both the Sections may not be valid for the case.
After the prosecution’s argument saying the Acts may be charged given the nature of harassment, CJM S Gopinathan stated both will be charged and the least relevant can be dismissed in the course of the trial, if proven so.
Further, the counsel demanded to cross examine the sanction authority as the first witness, alleging the complaints filed in the chargesheet and the one sanctioned by the competent authority were different. However, the prosecution denied the allegations and demanded the court to examine the complainant officer and her husband as first witness.