Chennai: Following the withdrawal of the petition filed seeking to transfer the sexual assault cases against Gem Veeramani to a CBI investigation, the High Court dismissed the petition.
In the petition filed in the High Court by Chennai-based lawyer C. Rajasekaran: Based on a pen drive provided by a child welfare activist against accused Gem Veeramani, the Chennai Central Crime Branch police have registered sexual assault cases under the POCSO Act against Veeramani, Shanthi, and others.
Since Veeramani was closely connected with all political leaders and since this case also involves senior police officials, it would not be appropriate for the state police to conduct the investigation. Therefore, this case should be transferred to the CBI or a Special Investigation Team for inquiry.
He had also requested that the media and social networking platforms be prohibited from publishing photos and videos related to this case.
This case came up for hearing again yesterday before a bench comprising Chief Justice S.A. Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arulmurugan. At that time, on behalf of the petitioner, it was requested that permission be granted to withdraw the petition, as a special investigation team has been formed to investigate this case and the inquiry is under way. The Chief Justice then raised the question of what compulsion led to the filing of this petition.
In response, on behalf of the petitioner, it was stated that only after this petition was filed did the Tamil Nadu government issue an order constituting a special investigation team. Accepting this, the judges permitted the petition to be withdrawn and dismissed it.