Ex-Tamil Nadu SDG gets three years in prison for sexually harassing junior

Rajesh Das was later given bail to file an appeal against the conviction within 30 days

A Tamil Nadu Court on Friday convicted and sentenced Rajesh Das, the former Special Director-General (SDG) of the state police force, to three years in prison in a sexual harassment case filed by a junior officer in February 2021. Das was also fined Rs 10,000.

The court in Tamil Nadu's Villupuram also fined a male cop Rs 500 for attempting to prevent the complaint from being filed.

Das was also granted bail by the same court to file an appeal within 30 days.

What is the case?

The woman police officer accused Das of inappropriate behaviour while the two were on duty in the state's central districts. This was during the tenure of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leader Edappadi Palaniswami as chief minister.

 

The state formed a six-member committee to investigate the complaint.

In addition, following the complaint, which became a major issue ahead of the AIADMK's loss in the 2021 Assembly election, Das was replaced by Jayanth Murali, Additional Director General in charge of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption, and placed on compulsory wait, which meant he had no specific assignment.

He was eventually suspended.

What did the Madras High Court say?

Months after the complaint was filed, the Madras High Court dismissed Das's petition challenging the Villupuram court's jurisdiction.

The plea was rejected by Justice P Velmurugan, who stated that the high court found no 'perversity' in the order issued by the Villupuram court in rejecting a similar petition, and directed the lower court not to bear 'prejudice' to the petitioner.

The high court had previously also condemned the incident, calling it 'shocking' and warning of the consequences for other women police officers in Tamil Nadu.

Following the high court's comments, the state government suspended Das.

Matter in the Supreme Court

Das had also petitioned the Supreme Court for the trial to be moved out of the state, fearing that comments made by the Madras High Court would jeopardise his chances of a fair trial.

The Supreme Court refused but did remove some comments and stated that the high court was not required to monitor inquiries.

The Supreme Court also ruled that daily hearings were not required, as ordered by the Madras High Court, which wanted the case resolved in six months.