Periyar Univ former VC’s conviction for cruelty towards daughter-in-law upheld
The Madras High Court has upheld the conviction of a former vice-chancellor Sethupathy Ramalingam of the Periyar University in Salem by a trial court for cruelty rendered to his daughter-in-law under Section 498(A) of the India Penal Code (IPC), which encompasses cruelty both mental and physical.
Chennai
Justice Nirmal Kumar before whom the appeal moved by the former vice-chancellor came challenging his conviction, however, considering the age of the former VC, who is now 80 years old, modified the sentence of imprisonment from three years to that of one year.
As per the case, Sangeetha had married Sethupathy’s son Rajavel in 2008, soon after the vice-chancellor had retired. But Rajavel, within a month after his marriage, moved to the US, leaving Sangeetha behind. Sangeetha was forced to live with her father-in-law in Salem and while she was forcefully confined there, no steps were taken to get her visa and unite her with her husband.
After going through several hardships, Sangeetha moved the court claiming that she was both mentally and physically harassed. While the Judicial Magistrate court in Salem had found Ramalingam guilty on three counts — cruelty, dowry harassment and sexual harassment.
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