In a significant judicial turn, the Supreme Court on Monday put a pause on the Madras High Court’s directives involving a departmental inquiry over the leak of a First Information Report (FIR) in a sexual assault case linked to Chennai’s Anna University. The decision came from a bench comprising Justices B V Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma, who also stayed certain critical remarks made by the high court concerning the Tamil Nadu state police.
The controversy centers on a disturbing incident at Anna University, where a female student was allegedly sexually assaulted, sparking considerable backlash from opposition parties and civil society groups. The leaked FIR, detailing the victim’s information, further compounded the trauma for the victim and her family, leading to the Madras High Court’s stern response in late December 2024.
According to the high court’s earlier order, the Tamil Nadu government was tasked with forming a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of three women IPS officers to thoroughly investigate the assault. Furthermore, the court ordered the state to compensate the victim with Rs 25,00,000 immediately, citing police lapses that facilitated the FIR leak and the resulting distress experienced by the victim and her family.
Additionally, the high court mandated the initiation of departmental disciplinary proceedings against those within the police department deemed responsible for the oversight.
However, the state government contested these orders at the Supreme Court, arguing that the FIR leak was the result of a technical glitch in the “citizen portal,” a fact acknowledged by the National Informatics Centre through an email. The government’s plea highlighted that corrective measures were swiftly taken: the compromised FIR was blocked, and a subsequent FIR was filed against individuals who disseminated the victim’s details across television and social media.
