[Pollachi rape case] Pathetic that women are not able to move out without fear even during day: Madras High Court while dismissing bail plea

The Madras High Court on Wednesday lamented about the poor state of women's safety in the country while dismissing the default bail plea moved by a man accused in the Pollachi sexual assault and extortion case. (K Arulanantham v. State, by Central Bureau of Investigation).Justice M Dhandapani recounted how the "Father of our nation", Mahatma Gandhi had lamented that the independence of our country would only stand fully achieved when women are able to go outside without any fear during the night. However, the situation is far from that ideal, the Court observed. ."... the pathetic situation that has unfolded since independence is that the women folk are not able to move out without fear even during the day time as their security and safety are at peril at the hands of anti- social elements, who prey on the women folk to satisfy their lust as is reflected in this case, thereby rendering the independence attained through blood sweating of our freedom fighters an effort in vain", the Court said..The Judge further opined that it is only by the expeditious and judicious disposal of cases involving crimes against women that "a semblance of safety" can be infused in the minds of the public. ."The expeditious and judicious disposal of cases of this nature by the courts alone could infuse a semblance of safety in the minds of the common man that the justice delivery system will step in to fill up the lacunae to not only render speedy justice but also see to it that the persons, who perpetrate heinous crimes are dealt with iron hands", stated the order..The Court made the observations while rejecting a plea for default bail made by one, K Arulanantham who is among those accused in a case involving allegations of rape, sexual assault and extortion of a number of women from Pollachi. .In February 2019, news broke about a gang in Pollachi and Coimbatore, which had blackmailed and raped hundreds of women, including college-going students. As per reports, the gang would contact the women using fake social media accounts and lure them into meetings, where the women were sexually molested and recorded on camera. The video recordings were used to further blackmail them..The racket came to light after the brother of a man lodged a police complaint on behalf of his sister. The case assumed political overtones after the brother was attacked for having lodged the complaint by a group of persons including a youth wing member of the ruling AIADMK party, who was expelled from the party shortly after that..Amidst public outcry, the Coimbatore Superintendent of Police, R Pandiarajan revealed the names of the survivor and her brother during a press conference. Even as the police faced public criticism for the same, the Tamil Nadu government revealed the survivor’s name, as well as the college she studied in, in a GO transferring the Pollachi sexual assault case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). .The High Court today was prompted to condemn the officers who had divulged the identity of the survivor, adding that departmental action must be taken against the errant officers. While the Court had earlier directed that compensation should be paid to the survivor whose name was revealed, Justice Dhandapani opined today that compensation alone is not enough. ."The disclosure of the names of the victims by the investigating team over the media, has put the fate of the said victims in jeopardy and the violation is of such a magnitude that imposition of cost alone would not be sufficient ... the persons, who were investigating the case then and who had committed such a lapse of divulging the names of the victims to the media should be dealt with departmentally by initiating proceedings against them", the Court said. .The Public Prosecutor appearing for the State also conceded that the Government will take suitable departmental action against such errant personnel. The submission was recorded and reflected in certain directions issued by the Court today. .Pertinently, the Court was also assured by the CBI that it would be ready to go ahead with the trial by the first week of September. .The Court proceeded to issue various directions to ensure an expeditious, day-to-day trial in this case and to ensure that the identity of witnesses and the victims is protected. Inter alia, the Court has directed the trial court to wrap up the trial proceedings within six months from the date of commencement of trial. .The directions issued by the Court are as follows.(i) All earnest efforts are to be made to commence the trial by the first week of September 2021. To that extent, the CBI shall take all earnest efforts to apprehend all suspects, if not already apprehended. A report is to be filed on this aspect before the commencement of trial.(ii) It is open to the CBI to file an application seeking identity-protection of the witnesses before the competent authority. On receipt of the same, the authority shall pass appropriate order in terms of the Witness Protection Scheme (para(iii) The trial court shall ensure that the name of the witnesses are not revealed to any other person.(iv) The Witness Protection Measures as spelt out in in Part-II, Part-III, Part-IV and Part-V of the Witness Protection Scheme, 2018, shall be strictly adhered to once the competent authority has passed an order protecting the identity of the witness.(v) The State government also shall ensure that the protection measures, as envisaged under Clause-7 of the Witness Protection Scheme, is strictly adhered to, so that the identity of the witness would be closely guarded pre-trial and post-trial, so that the safety and security of the victims and witnesses would stand protected.vi) The State shall provide the necessary funds for implementing the witness protection programme pursuant to the Witness Protection Order passed by the competent authority.(vii) The State shall also take all necessary steps for providing Live Link for taking deposition of the victims and the witnesses for the purposes of interacting with the competent authority as also for the purpose of deposing before the Court.viii) The Forensic Lab, which comes under the control of the State, shall submit necessary reports relating to the items, which have been sent by the CBI for analysis to the CBI within two weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of the order. The Public Prosecutor appearing for the State shall ensure that the reports are dispatched by the Forensic Lab within the time frame.(ix) In view of the sensitivity of the case, the trial court shall take all necessary steps to conduct “In-Camera Proceedings”, wherever necessary as provided under Clause 2 (f) of the Witness Protection Scheme.(x) As informed by the Public Prosecutor for the State, the State shall issue a notification nominating J Mutharasi, Superintendent of Police, CBCID – Unit-2, for the purpose of assisting the CBI in prosecuting the case before the trial court.(xi) The government shall initiate appropriate departmental action forthwith against the then Superintendent of Police and also the other police personnel, who were involved in divulging the names of the victims and the accused to the media.(xii) The Sessions Judge, Mahalir Neethi Mandram, Coimbatore, is directed to conduct the trial on day-to-day basis and complete the trial within a period of six months from the date of commencement of the trial.(xiii) The Public Prosecutor appointed by the CBI before the trial court for the purpose of conducting the trial before the Sessions Judge shall take the assistance of K Srinivasan, Special Public Prosecutor for CBI cases, High Court, Madras, for the effective conduct of the trial. He is to be informed of the day-to-day affairs in the conduct of the trial so that he can assist in the proper conduct of the case for ensuring fair delivery of justice to all the parties concerned..[Read Order]