MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court recently observed that even a solitary incident of sexual assault against a minor can be considered for passing detention order under Tamil Nadu Act 14 of 1982 (Goondas Act).
A bench of justices GK Ilanthiraiyan and R Poornima said so while dismissing a Habeas Corpus Petition (HCP) filed by a woman seeking a direction to quash the detention order passed by Thanjavur collector against her 38-year-old brother under 'sexual offender' category on April 17.
The petitioner's counsel argued that the detention was illegal as the detention order was passed after a gap of 35 days from the date of arrest (March 12). He also claimed that the detaining authority has no jurisdiction to invoke the provisions of the Goondas Act for a solitary incident. More particularly, the said act of the detenu did not have sufficient impact on society so as to cause disturbance to public order, he contended.
However, the judges refused to accept the said submissions. "The detenu committed a sexual offence against a minor victim girl aged 8 years. Therefore, the detenu has committed an offence against society, and it is a serious and heinous one. Hence, even a solitary incident can be considered for passing the detention order," the judges observed.
Further noting a judgment relied upon by the additional public prosecutor, which said there is no specific time limit for passing detention order, the judges also ruled out the objections raised over delay in passing the detention order.
The judges also rejected other technical objections such as failure to furnish translated copy (Tamil copy) of accident register and absence of attempts to get bail. Holding that there was no infirmity in the detention order, they dismissed the petition.