CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Wednesday refused to discharge suspended SP D Kannan from the case relating to alleged sexual harassment of a woman IPS officer by the then Special DGP. When Justice P Velmurugan refused to stay an order of the chief judicial magistrate (CJM) of Villupuram turning down the plea of Kannan to discharge him, the petition was withdrawn. Justice Velmurugan said only God can save the police department which is mired in wrongdoing.
“God save the (police) department,” he said. Referring to the allegations of sexual harassment of the woman officer, he said this looks awkward. “When such allegations are made against an officer of (police) department, how will the public have faith in them?” he asked.
The government is also supporting them for some reason, the judge stated and noted that unfortunately, the court is also sometimes a spectator to all these things because the court needs something (substantive). “Mere allegation or rumour is not sufficient as the court requires evidence. This is a shame to the State and we are going back to the dark ages,” he said.
Earlier, the counsel appearing for Kannan, the second accused in the case, had argued that he was ‘obeying orders of the superior’ and was not aware of the fact that the woman officer was heading to lodge a complaint against the Special DGP. The counsel further argued that Kannan did not stop the woman officer’s vehicle as alleged in the chargesheet. However, the judge said the suspended SP can put forward his case before the trial court during the trial. “If you are obeying the orders of the superior, will you kill a person if asked to do so?” the judge asked.
Transgenders seek 1 per cent reservation
Chennai: Transgender activist Grace Banu Ganeshan has filed a petition in the Madras High Court seeking a reservation of one per cent for transpersons in posts of office assistant and library assistants to be recruited by the court.
After the petition came up for hearing on Wednesday, the first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice PD Audikesavalu directed the counsel representing the registrar general to submit a reply, and posted the matter for next week. The petitioner said the registrar general, on March 14, sought to fill vacancies in various posts, including office assistants and library assistants, but there was no reservation for the transgender community. Several transpersons fulfil the eligibility criteria, she said.