A bail warrant was issued against pensioner I.G. Murugan in sexual harassment case

A court in Chennai on Friday (November 22, 2024) issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against retired police officer S Murugan after rejecting his plea seeking release from the sexual harassment case against him.

The allegation against Murugan is that while he was serving as joint director of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) in Chennai in August 2018, he allegedly sexually harassed a woman police officer who was at the SP level. The complaint was referred to the Internal Complaints Committee following which the CB-CID registered a criminal case.

Murugan has been booked under Section 354 (outraging the modesty of a woman by criminal force) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act, among other sections. The indictment was presented to the court of first instance.

Earlier this year, the Tamil Nadu government allowed Murugan to retire from service on the day of his retirement without prejudice to pending legal and disciplinary proceedings against him.

When the case came up for hearing before the 11th Metropolitan Magistrate N. Sultan Aribin recently, the retired officer did not appear. The judge then ordered him to appear on November 22.

Since Murugan did not appear on the specified date, the judge in a short order said: “The accused was absent. The case was published for the purpose of drawing up charges and was specially referred for trial in this court. Therefore, issue a non-bailable warrant.”