Woman IPS Officer's Sexual Harassment Complaint- "Have Suspended Delinquent Special DGP": TN Govt. Informs Madras High Court

In a significant move, the Tamil Nadu Government has suspended the 'Delinquent Officer', Special DGP, who has been charged with sexual harassment of an IPS cadre woman officer two days after the Madras High Court asked it to do the same.The State Government today (March 23) informed the Madras High Court's Bench of Justice N. Anand Venkatesh that vide order dated 18th March 2021, issued by the Home (SC) Department and, it has suspended the officer concerned with immediate effect.Significantly, the Madras High Court has taken suo moto cognizance of alleged sexual harassment of an IPS cadre woman officer by her senior, a Special DGP, and has decided to monitor the investigation into the case itself.Calling it a 'positive action', the High Court remarked,"(This action) on the part of the State will bring in a lot of confidence in the investigation that is conducted by a subordinate officer. This positive stand taken by the State will also reinforce the confidence in the minds of the general public who are keenly watching the progress of the investigation in this case."Further, while expressing satisfaction with the investigation till now, the Court also praised the efforts put in by the Investigating Officer in the case.The Court specifically observed that IO spent a lot of energy and time in this case and that within such a short time, he managed to record the statements of nearly 87 witnesses apart from recording the statements of the accused persons.When asked as to how much time it will take for the completion of the investigation and for filing the Final Report in this case, the I.O. informed the Court that there are some more witnesses to be examined and the analysis report would have to be received, and that, it would tentatively take another 6-8 weeks for the completion of the investigation and to file a Final Report in this case.To this, the Court said,"This Court hopes that the I.O. will be able to complete the investigation and file a Final Report before the concerned court within a period of 8 weeks."Accused submission before the CourtThe Counsel for the accused person pleaded that the Court must take into consideration the stand taken by the accused person since according to him, the entire prosecution is attended with malafides and there is a larger conspiracy behind this case. It was further contended that the Court had commented in its earlier order on the availability of prima facie materials against the accused persons, therefore, it was urged that the stand of the accused person must also be taken into consideration by the Court, while passing orders in this Writ Petition. To this, clarifying that till a Final Report is filed before the concerned jurisdictional court, the investigation is purely within the realm of the I.O, the Court remarked, "As a Constitutional Court, this Court has taken upon itself to monitor the investigation in this case, considering the larger public interest and the interest of the police force in the State of Tamil Nadu." Further, the Court also observed that it had made an observation on the availability of the prima facie materials only based on what has been collected by the I.O. in the course of the investigation. "Such an observation has nothing to do with the merits of the case and by no stretch can it impact the defence to be taken by the accused", added the Court. Significantly, the Court also said, "It must be mentioned here that the accused persons may not have any locus standi to insist the Court to take into consideration, his stand in the case, during the course of the investigation. During this period, the Court is not deciding on the merits of the case and this Court is only monitoring the progress made in the investigation." In view of the above, the I.O. was directed to proceed further with the investigation and take all efforts to complete the investigation at the earliest possible time and file a Final Report within a period of 8 weeks. However, the Court also said that time limits should not lead to a hasty investigation and therefore, what is important in this case, is to conduct an effective investigation. With this, the matter was posted 'for filing further status report' on 30th April 2021. Click Here To Download Order Read Order

Woman IPS Officer's Sexual Harassment Complaint- "Have Suspended Delinquent Special DGP": TN Govt. Informs Madras High Court

Sparsh Upadhyay

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