SIX WOMEN LAWYERS MOVE MADRAS HC ENSURE SAFE ENVIRONMENT FOR SURVIVORS IN POLLACHI CASE DISHA GUPTA LAW CRITIQUE Sun, Mar 31, 2019, at ,12:34 PM The Madras High Court has issued notice in a Public Interest Litigation seeking the issuance of directions to create a safe environment for the survivors of the Pollachi sexual assault and extortion case. What is Pollachi case? The Pollachi sexual abuse case snowballed into a major scandal after local media reported that no less than a few hundred women in the town were victims of an organised racket of sexual abuse, blackmail and extortion. In February this year, four men were arrested for allegedly blackmailing, sexually harassing and filming a 19-year-old college student in Pollachi, a small town near Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu. Unfortunately, the local media came through and also reported that not just one but a few hundred women were victims of an organised racket of sexual abuse, blackmail and extortion. Compounding the horror, video clips of the alleged incidents, purportedly filmed by the accused, were also leaked within days of the media reports. The petition was filed by six women lawyers of the Madras High Court to counter the hostile environment created by the state authorities so far in responding to the Pollachi case. The petition was admitted on Friday by the First Bench of Chief Justice VK Tahilramani and Justice M Duraiswamy after hearing submissions made by Senior Advocate R Vaigai on behalf of petitioner advocates- G Chamki Raj, A Arulmozhi, BS Ajeetha, Adhilakshmi Logamurthy, R Sudha and Kiruba Munuswamy. The Court has issued notice to the state government and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The petition has raised strong objection against the callous manner in which the Pollachi case has been handled so far by the state. Particularly, it has been pointed out that the sex abuse survivor’s identity was released not just by the Superintendent of Police during initial stages of the investigation, but also by the state government when it handed over the investigation to the CBI. The Madurai Bench of the High Court thereafter ordered that a fresh ‘GO’ be issued instead, without revealing the identity of the survivor. The Bench had also directed that the state government must pay a sum of Rs 25 lakh to the survivor as compensation for having disclosed her name. This is in contravention of obligations under the Constitution of India and the directives issued by the Supreme Court with regard to protecting and supporting the women victims of sexual violence. Such disclosure of the survivor’s identity would also serve as a deterrent for other survivors to approach the authorities with their complaints. Overall, the petition highlights the inadequacy of survivor protection mechanisms to combat the secondary victimisation that sexual assault survivors may face due to the inadequate response of institutions in the form of lack of support, shaming of the victims and their families etc. It is emphasised that there is an absolute need for psychiatric, legal and other counselling for the victims and their families to help them cope with the emotional trauma associated with sexual abuse. Earlier this month, the First Bench had also issued notice in a PIL calling for a court-monitored probe into the case. The controversy surrounding the case has also prompted two lawyers to file a plea for a Supreme Court-monitored probe in the matter. The plea, which is pending before the Supreme Court, also calls for transferring the trial outside Tamil Nadu.