The Madras High Court has ordered the transfer of a sexual harassment case filed by a woman police officer against an IG rank officer to any court in a neighbouring state or Delhi. The order was pronounced in the case filed by the woman SP in the Madras High Court, seeking transfer of Murugan IPS, against whom she had filed a sexual harassment complaint last year.
A bench comprising justices Vineet Kothari and C.V. Karthikeyan passed directions on August 13, stating that “the advocate general shall take instructions from the state government for transferring all the proceedings in the present case under the provisions of the sexual harassment of women at workplace.”
The order further added that the case as well as the investigation shall be transferred from the state of Tamil Nadu to any neighbouring state or to Delhi. “All three parties, the complainant, the respondent and the state may file their respective affidavits in this regard within a period of two weeks from today.” With the court’s order, it means for the first time in the history of Tamil Nadu police force, a sexual harassment complaint by a woman SP against her superior officer is to be heard by a court outside of Tamil Nadu. Sources in the police department say that the order was an outcome of the displeasure with the way the investigation was handled and the slow progress with regard to the case. Apparently, Justice S.M. Subramaniam’s directions in February to constitute an internal committee to carry out a free and fair investigation in the complaint filed by the woman officer was not complied with. The agencies, particularly the police department and the government, which were supposed to constitute the committee and enquire the complaint did not comply with Justice Subramaniam’s orders.
The case was an outcome of a sexual harassment complaint filed by a woman officer of SP rank against her superior officer. In August 2018, a woman SP had filed a complaint against Joint Director of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption. She alleged sexual harassment against Murugan IPS. The case came out in the open at a time when the #MeToo movement in India was at its peak. The case came to light when the police department was hurriedly trying to constitute an internal committee to enquire into the sexual harassment complaint, under the provisions of the sexual harassment of women at workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. Following this, the CB-CID registered a FIR against Murugan in September last year. However, the case did not see the light of the day till the woman officer approached the court.
