The Madras High Court on Friday declined to interfere with the ongoing police investigation into the rape and murder of a 10-year-old girl in Coimbatore, observing that the probe is prima facie proceeding in the right direction. A vacation bench of Justice GR Swaminathan and Justice V Lakshminarayanan stated that the court could not dictate to the police how an investigation should be conducted.
PIL Seeks Special Investigation Team
The court reserved its orders on a public interest writ petition filed by P Chokkalingam, president of the north Tamil Nadu unit of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, seeking the formation of a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the Sulur rape-murder case. The PIL also requested a direction to restrain media reporting related to the incident, citing that videos circulating on social media were adversely affecting the investigation.
State Government's Response
Appearing for the state, Advocate-General Vijay Narayan informed the court that authorities were awaiting DNA test results and that Sankaran had been appointed as special public prosecutor to conduct the trial. He said instructions had been issued to file a charge sheet at the earliest to ensure speedy justice. The advocate-general also stated that the government was taking special measures to address sexual crimes against women and children.
Vijay Narayan further informed the court that authorities had approached Instagram seeking removal of videos related to the case circulating online, a process that could take at least seven days. He added that detailed guidelines would be framed to prevent sexual offences against women and children.
Investigation Under Supervision
Senior government criminal counsel John Sathyan submitted that the investigation was being supervised by an additional superintendent of police and that both accused had been detained under the Goondas Act. The court acknowledged the progress and refrained from intervening in the investigation.
