Chennai: The Madras High Court, on Friday, pulled up the Tamil Nadu police for leaking the identity of the sexual assault victim of Anna University. The High Court strongly condemned the Chennai Police for revealing the identity of a student who was sexually assaulted on the Anna University campus. The court was hearing a petition seeking a CBI investigation into the case.

Justice SM Subramaniam and Justice V Lakshminarayan expressed concern that the police’s lapse would discourage victims from reporting crimes. “Who is responsible for the victim’s family and what they are going through?” the bench asked. “The parents of all students will be afraid now to approach the police.”

The court questioned how the police could upload the FIR without redacting the victim’s identity details. “You can upload the FIR, but you are supposed to redact identity details. The damage caused to the victim and her family can’t be taken back by you.”

The police were ordered to provide an explanation by Saturday. Advocate Jayaprakash, representing one of the petitioners, argued that the police’s actions were a “serious lapse” and that the administration was trying to protect those involved in the case.

The accused, Gnanasekaran, a roadside biryani vendor, was arrested on December 25 for allegedly sexually assaulting the student on campus. The incident occurred on December 23, and the student reported the matter to the police and filed a formal grievance with the university’s Internal Complaints Committee.

Further legal action in the case is underway.