Madras HC rejects Special DGP’s plea for transferring sexual harassment case

Chennai, Oct 27 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Madras High Court on Wednesday turned down a plea by a Special DGP of the Tamil Nadu Police to transfer sexual harassment against him on a complaint by a woman IPS officer.

The Special DGP wanted the case to be transferred from the Villupuram Chief Judicial Magistrate's court to a judicial court with territorial jurisdiction, arguing the Villupuram court does not have territorial jurisdiction over where the crime had allegedly taken place.

The woman IPS officer had complained that the Special DGP had harassed her when they both were on bandobast duty during the tour of the then Chief Minister K. Palaniswami.

The case was heard by the single judge bench of Justice P. Velumurgan who completed the hearing on October 20 and reserved the orders for Wednesday.

The advocate appearing for the Special DGP argued that according to the FIR in the complaint, the alleged offense had taken place between Namakkal and Ulundurpet, and the allegation against the second accused Superintendent of Police, Kannan, was at Chengalpattu, and no case was registered in the jurisdiction of Villupuram magistrate court.

However, Justice Velmurugan had dismissed as withdrawn another case filed by Kannan who is suspended from service.

Counsel for the petitioner had withdrawn the case after Justice Velumurugan made some adverse remarks against the conduct of the police officers over the issue.

Kannan is accused of having stopped the vehicle of the woman police officer at Chengalpattu toll plaza while she was on her way to file a complaint at the police headquarters and making her speak with the accused DGP over the telephone.

Source: IANS