The Madras High Court Bench here on Thursday refused to grant bail to a law student, convicted by a lower court and sentenced to life imprisonment for having sexually assaulted a minor girl, but permitted him to write his examinations at Tiruchi Law College for five days between May 11 and June 3.
Disposing of a petition filed by the law student hailing from Pudukottai district, a Division Bench of Justices P.N. Prakash and Pushpa Sathyanarayana directed the Superintendent of Tiruchi Central Prison to verify from the college authorities as to whether Dr. Ambedkar Law University in Chennai had issued hall ticket to the petitioner.
Since the Bench was seized of a criminal appeal filed by the student challenging his conviction, the judges ordered that the university should decide on issuing hall ticket without reference to the conviction ordered by the sessions court. In case of a positive decision, the prison authorities should permit the petitioner to take the examinations.
“The examinations are slated to be held on May 11, 14, 18, 21 and June 3. The petitioner shall be sent under police escort so as to reach the examination centre at 9.30 a.m. and after completion of his examination, he shall be brought back to the prison. The petitioner may not be put under handcuff,” the Division Bench ordered.
Authoring the order for the Bench, Mr. Justice Prakash also said that the petitioner’s mother and another close relative must furnish security bonds for Rs.10,000 each to the satisfaction of the prison superintendent besides paying the requisite charges for providing police escort during the days of the examinations.
Though the petitioner had urged the court to suspend his sentence and let him out on bail since he was a student, the judges moulded the relief and permitted him to write the examinations without granting bail.
A Mahila Court in Pudukottai district had convicted him under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 on March 25.
