Positive stand by State will reinforce public confidence: Madras High Court appreciates suspension of DGP accused of sexual harassment

The Madras High Court on Tuesday expressed its appreciation over the decision to suspend a Special Director General of Police, Law and Order, who was accused of sexually harassing an Indian Police Services (IPS) officer..Previously, the Court had pointed out that the failure to do so would jeopardise the ongoing investigation..Special Senior Counsel for the State of Tamil Nadu AL Somayaji on Tuesday informed the Court that the DGP has been placed under suspension with immediate effect by an order issued on March 18. In view of the move, Justice N Anand Venkatesh has observed:."This positive 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.".Failure to suspend Tamil Nadu Special DGP accused of sexual harassment may jeopardize investigation: Madras High Court.The High Court has been monitoring the CB-CID inquiry underway in the case. Justice Venkatesh was informed that so far, 87 witnesses have been examined in the case, and that it would take about 6-8 weeks for the investigation to be complete. .Observing that the inquiry appears to be progressing well, the Court commented:."The I.O. has spent a lot of energy and time in this case, and it is apparent from the fact that within such a short time, the I.O. has recorded the statements of nearly 87 witnesses apart from recording the statements of the accused persons. The I.O. has not reported any interference in the investigation till now and there is also no complaint against the accused persons with regard to their cooperation in the course of investigation. This Court deems it fit to place on record, the appreciable manner in which the investigation has taken place in this case. 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.".The accused officer sought to intervene in the High Court proceedings on apprehensions that there is a larger conspiracy involved and that the prosecution against him is malafide. The High Court, however, declined to allow the intervention request, noting that it cannot comment on the merits of the case as the same may prejudice the trial. The Court reiterated that it has only been monitoring the case progression to ensure neutrality in public interest. "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. The defence of the accused person comes into play only during the course of trial in criminal case... If courts are to give any finding based on the stand taken by the accused person during the course of investigation, it will directly interfere with the exclusive domain of the I.O. Therefore, at this stage, this Court cannot take into consideration the stand of the accused persons and at the best, this Court can only ensure that the investigation is carried on in a free and fair manner," Justice Venkatesh said. .The matter will be taken up next by the High Court on April 30. The judge has requested that all efforts be made to complete the investigation as early as possible. The authorities have been directed to file a final report in eight weeks' time. The Court, however, cautioned that it does not mean that a hasty investigation should be carried out to compromise on its effectiveness. ."This is only a tentative time fixed by this Court and if there is any difficulty in filing the Final Report within the stipulated time, the same can be brought to the notice of this Court and this Court will extend the time. Time limits should not lead to a hasty investigation and therefore, what is important in this case, is to conduct an effective investigation," the Court's order states. .The accused DGP officer allegedly misbehaved with the complainant in his vehicle on February 21. Later, an attempt was made to stop the complainant from lodging her complaint with the Home Secretary, Chennai..It was also reported that a large number of police officers allegedly attempted to intercept the vehicle of the complainant at Chengalpet on the directions by the District Superintendent of Police, while she was en route to file a complaint after the incident..Taking note of these aspects, the High Court decided to monitor the case investigation suo motu earlier this month..Read the Order: