Court sets aside order sacking cop accused of rape

Court sets aside order sacking cop accused of rape

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:31.01.2021 

The Madras high court set aside an earlier order of a single judge upholding compulsory retirement for an Armed Reserve policeman, who was accused of making false promises of marrying a 17-year-old girl and sexually assaulting her.

A division bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy also said the policeman is entitled to half the salary he would have earned if he were in service for the period between the order and the present.

A disciplinary committee of the police department had punished the armed reserve personnel belonging to Vellore division after a 17-year-old girl charged him with sexually assaulting her on the pretext of marrying her. In 2005, the committee dismissed him from service. The policeman appealed against the dismissal stating that during the investigation, charges of sexual harassment were not proven and only the false promise of marriage was confirmed. But the superintendent of police concerned disagreed with the finding rendered by the inquiry officer on the sexual harassment charge. A single judge upheld the order by the disciplinary committee.

While hearing the appeal against the single judge’s order, the first bench observed that the failure to live up to a promise to marry cannot be equated with the commission of the offence of rape.

“What is evident from the appreciation of theevidenceby the disciplinary authority is that the intimacy between the two was established, but there is not a shred of evidence alluded to indicate that any physical violence was resorted to by the delinquent,” the bench observed and set aside the earlier order.

The policeman said that while charge of false promise of marriage was confirmed during probe, the charge of sexual harassment was not proved