Anna University sexual assault case convict A Gnanasekaran to spend 30 years in jail, rules Chennai court

AMahila margaret court in madras on mon sentenced yard bird A Gnanasekaran to life-time imprisonment for at least 30 years and a fine of ₹90,000 in the Anna University sexual assault case.On May 28, the Mahila court pronounced biriyani vendor A Gnanasekaran guilty, who was arrested in the sensational Anna University woman student sexual assault case, with the prosecution seeking "maximum punishment" for him.The court, holding that the prosecution had proved the case beyond a reasonable doubt, found Gnanasekaran guilty of the charges framed against him in the sexual assault case that rocked Tamil Nadu in December 2024.Mahila court judge Rajalakshmi said she would pronounce the verdict in the case on June 2. The government counsel later told reporters that the prosecution filed 11 charges against Gnanasekaran and proved all of them using documentary and forensic evidence. What is Anna University sexual assault case?The Anna University sexual assault case came to light after the victim lodged a complaint before the All Women Police Station in Kotturpuram in Chennai on December 23 last year. In her complaint, the student alleged A Gnanasekaran threatened her when she was with a male friend and then sexually harassed her. Gnanasekaran was later arrested. The FIR of the case was downloaded from the CCTNS website of the Tamil Nadu police and broadcast by certain sections of the media, which created a furore.Later, the Madras high court transferred the investigation of the case to a Special Investigation Team, which also probed the FIR leak. The SIT filed a charge sheet in February before a magistrate court. Thereafter, the case was transferred to the Mahila court. The Mahila court framed charges against Gnanasekaran under sections various sections of the BNS, including sexual harassment, BNSS, IT Act and the Tamil Nadu Prevention of Women Harassment Act.Political backlash The sensational Anna University sexual assault case had triggered a political row over Gnanasekaran's alleged connections with the ruling DMK in the state, although the party president and chief minister MK Stalin had in January said he was only a sympathiser and supporter, and not a member of the Dravidian organisation.Responding to the court verdict, MK Stalin said the police department has ensured justice in just five months for the victim.Assuring once again justice and safety-security for women, Stalin said the trial was conducted expeditiously and, "our police department has secured justice in just five months." In a social media post, he thanked the police officials who investigated the case, prosecutors and the court. "I continuously tell the police department that there should be no incidents of crime, and in case such things happen, no perpetrator of crimes should escape; probe and trial should be expeditious and punishment must be secured for the offenders," the chief minister said, adding, the hopes of opposition parties to carry on "defamatory, cheap politics," have been shattered.AIADMK said it continuously struggled to get justice for the victim. Leader of Opposition (LoP), Palaniswami said there are no answers yet for several questions raised in the people's court. "Why was Gnanasekaran, who was the first to be arrested in the case, released immediately? What happened between the release and the arrest that occurred yet again," he demanded to know. A former chief minister, he alleged that Gnanasekaran had great proximity to two DMK personalities, one a minister and another holding a key post in the Chennai city corporation. "Why these two were not questioned by police," he asked. All such allegations had already been dismissed by the DMK. Also, the AIADMK top leader sought explanation to alleged "pressure" over the resignation of Dy SP Raghavendra Ravi of the Special Investigation Team.Tamil Nadu BJP President Nainar Nagendran, tagging pictures of Gnanasekaran with DMK leaders, said in a social media post that it was a "historic judgment," which found the accused guilty. He lauded the victim for her fight for justice despite "political threats" and police "releasing" information related to her. The ruling has reinforced that law would do its duty even if the perpetrators of crimes against women had political background and money power.DMK MP Kanimozhi said the government has got the conviction for the accused in 157 days, whereas six years and a half passed by to get justice for victims in the Pollachi sexual assault, which happened during the previous AIADMK regime.Dravidar Kazhagam president K Veeramani lauded the DMK government and the court for the verdict.