Anna University sexual assault case: SC stays Madras High Court order to probe FIR leak

Setting up an SIT to probe, the HC had, on December 28, 2024, criticised the Chennai Police Commissioner A Arun, raising questions about his conduct during the early investigation stages.

“When the Constitution does not discriminate between men and women, the society cannot dictate the way in which women should conduct themselves,” the HC bench stated. The HC directed the state to pay `25 lakh as compensation to the survivor for the humiliation she faced due to the FIR leak, and ensure her education at Anna University without any fees or associated costs.

What added to the HC’s ire was that the commissioner had conducted a press conference asserting that the sole accused in the case, Gnanasekaran, had acted alone. “How can the Commissioner come to such a conclusion right at the initial stage of the investigation?…” the high court had asked. The bench had instructed the state government to “initiate appropriate action, if necessary”, against Arun.

However, on Monday, senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Siddharth Luthra, on behalf of the state government, said Arun could not be faulted as the FIR uploaded on Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System (CCTNS) had blocked personal details but a technical glitch caused the leakage and because the system had to migrate from older criminal codes to newer ones.

The counsel pointed out that the government wrote to CCTNS to block the FIR details and that an FIR was filed against unknown persons regarding the leak.