Are women in your families given respect, asks Madras HC; dismisses plea on Anna University sexual assault

CHENNAI: Strongly criticising what he termed was attempts to politicise the sexual harassment of a student of Anna University, a judge of the Madras High Court asked if those staging demonstrations and protests over the incident accorded respect to the women in their families.

Justice P Velmurugan said this while refusing to hear a petition moved by the PMK, seeking permission to hold an agitation condemning the sexual assault case.

"As a common citizen of this country, I'm ashamed to be a human being of this era; everyone should be ashamed of this incident,” said Justice Velmurugan.

Noting the sorry state of affairs in the country where such harassments were happening every day, the judge wondered why this issue alone was being politicised by political parties.

The judge also wondered whether those eager to hit the streets in protest were giving equal respect to the women in their own families. "Women are not weaker sex, men should change their mindset that women are under their protection. Only a polluted mind can think that women are inferior to men," said the judge.

Instead of giving equal rights to women, everyone is politicising this one incident and suppressing the women more, which is the sorry state of affairs in Tamil Nadu, he added.

Senior PMK leader advocate K Balu moved an urgent mentioning before the High Court seeking to permit the party to conduct a demonstration condemning the sexual harassment case. He argued that the government cannot deny permission as India is a democracy.

However, the judge refused to grant permission, pointing out that the High Court has already taken suo motu cognizance in this regard.