Madras High Court Denies CBI Probe in Child Assault Case Involving Businessman

The Madras High Court has dismissed a request to transfer the investigation of a child sexual assault case involving businessman Veeramani from the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The decision, made during a hearing on Wednesday, highlighted the fact that the SIT was newly established and deserved sufficient time to conduct its work.

Justice V Lakshminarayanan, presiding over the hearing, stated, "The SIT has just taken over the probe and it has to be given at least some breathing time." He stressed that expecting immediate results from the SIT would be unrealistic. The judge further quipped, "I am sure the Tamil Nadu police do not have a crystal ball or a magic wand in their hands to get all the evidence they require by the wave of their hands."

The case has drawn significant public attention given its sensitive nature. Justice Lakshminarayanan emphasised the importance of not exploiting such cases for publicity, especially when children, particularly from the Scheduled Castes community, are involved. As such, he directed the SIT to provide a progress report on its investigation.

The plea for a CBI inquiry was filed by YouTuber Varaaki, who claims to have evidence implicating several officials in a cover-up related to the assault. The judge urged the petitioner to present any available evidence to the SIT, reinforcing the court's position that the investigation must proceed appropriately.

During the proceedings, the court also ordered television channels to remove any offending videos pertaining to the child sexual assault case, following a request from advocate Deepika Murali, representing the NGO Tulir. She highlighted that such material remained accessible on various platforms, which could potentially harm the victims.

The hearing was adjourned for one week, allowing time for the SIT to carry out its investigation and report its findings back to the court.