SC asks police not to arrest ex-DGP, issues notice to Tamil Nadu | Chennai News - Times of India

Source: The Times of India

CHENNAI: In a big reprieve to retired DG-rank officer Rajesh Das, who has been convicted in a sexual harassment case, Supreme Court on Friday directed police not to arrest him.

A vacation bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal passed the order on a special leave petition filed by Rajesh Das against a Madras high court order refusing to suspend the three-year sentence imposed on him by the Villupuram chief judicial magistrate court and upheld by the Villupuram principal sessions court.HC had also rejected the retired officer's plea for exemption from surrendering, as ordered by the sessions court.

Acceding to the pleas of senior counsel C Aryama Sundaram on Friday, the bench insulated the ex-officer from arrest and issued notice to Tamil Nadu govt, returnable by July 10.

The case relates to the sexual harassment he had meted out to a serving woman IPS officer while on chief minister's security duty in 2021. Villupuram CJM court found him guilty on June 16, 2023, and sentenced him to three-year imprisonment. It was later upheld by district principal sessions court. The court also directed police to execute the sentence and issued an arrest warrant.

Rajesh Das then filed a revision petition in Madras high court and sought suspension of the sentence and exemption from surrendering as interim reliefs.

However, high court, while admitting the revision plea, declined to suspend the sentence nor exempt him from surrendering. The present SLP in Supreme Court is against the rejection of his interim prayers against surrender.