Tamil Nadu - Chennai   

Trial court verdict in Sarika Shah case upheld

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Friday upheld a trial court order convicting and sentencing nine persons to five years rigorous imprisonment in the Sarika Shah eve-teasing case. Justice S.K. Krishnan said the Sessions Judge had not committed any error in convicting and sentencing the accused. “The entire case on hand tells tales of woe faced by women and girls day in and day out at the hands of unruly elements,” the Judge said.

Keeping in mind the social menace to girls and women, Mr. Justice Krishnan said he would recommend to the State Government to introduce a special subject for girl students relating to the laws of the land under which they could seek remedy from legal forums and legal rights they were entitled to, such as how to react and defend themselves in the event of an incident such as eve teasing, molestation and sexual harassment; make it mandatory for all schools and colleges to conduct classes by experts at least once in a week to motivate and educate girl students on their rights and to issue instructions to police to act swiftly whenever a girl or woman approached them with complaints of such incidents without causing embarrassment to them.

The prosecution case was that on July 18, 1998, Sarika Shah, who was studying B.B.M.II year in Ethiraj College, and her college mate were proceeding to a juice shop near the institution, when a group of persons came in an autorickshaw and teased them. One among them poured water on the two. He later jumped on Sarika Shah as a result of which she fell down, sustained head injury and later died.

In April 2001, the First Additional Sessions Judge sentenced Hari and eight others to five years rigorous imprisonment and fines under various counts. Challenging this, the nine preferred appeal.

Mr. Justice Krishnan said the prosecution case could not be shaken on the ground that the accused were not identified by some witnesses before the test identification parade. Mere non-identification by prosecution witnesses in the test identification parade could not be taken as a ground to disbelieve the entire prosecution case since, admittedly, the same witnesses had identified the accused in the open court. The court found considerable force in the submission of the Government Advocate (Criminal Side), Hasan Md.Jinna. There was no substance in the contentions raised by the appellants’ counsel.

The contention that the prosecution witnesses were tutored and got knowledge about the accused’ identity through media and hence their evidence could not be relied upon, could not be sustained because independent witnesses, who did not have affinity towards the complainant or animosity against the accused identified the accused correctly. Further, the evidence of Sarika Shah’s college mates and other witnesses were cogent, clear and corroborated with one another.

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