Madras HC orders Rs 25 lakh compensation for complainant in Anna University sexual assault case
The FIR containing the complainant’s private details was leaked, which caused her ‘trauma and humiliation’, said the bench.
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The Madras High Court on Saturday ordered the Tamil Nadu government to pay Rs 25 lakh as compensation to a student of Anna University who had filed a complaint after she was allegedly sexually assaulted on the campus, reported The Indian Express.
A vacation bench of Justices S M Subramaniam and V Lakshminarayanan ordered the compensation as the first information report based on the complaint was leaked, revealing the identity of the student.
The leak had caused the complainant “trauma and humiliation”, said the bench.
The court also constituted an all-woman Special Investigation Team, comprising senior Indian Police Service officers Bhukya Sneha Priya, Ayman Jamal, and S Brinda, to probe the case.
Anna University was directed to ensure that the student continues her education without any fees or associated costs.
The order came on public interest litigations seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the matter.
The bench criticised Chennai Police Commissioner A Arun for allegedly mishandling the case and raised questions about his conduct during the initial stages of the investigation.
It expressed shock over the language used in the FIR, stating that it amounted to victim-shaming.
“When the Constitution does not discriminate between men and women, the society cannot dictate the way in which women should conduct themselves,” the court said.
According to the FIR, the accused 37-year-old...
