Madras HC restrains media from publishing videos in Veeramani Pocso case

The Madras high court on Friday restrained media outlets from publishing or broadcasting videos in connection with the Pocso act case against granite baron R Veeramani, observing that premature publication of such material could “deter other child victims from coming forward”.

Justice V Lakshminarayanan said the media could debate the case, but should not telecast or circulate explicit videos involving the alleged victims.

“Publishing it prematurely is going to have a chilling effect on the other victims…If it is going to be published and debated, if I were the victim, I wouldn’t have the gall to come for investigation. You can have debates on the issue. It should be debated. But can’t you debate without circulation? There is something more important in life than TRP ratings,” the court said. Whether Veeramani had committed the alleged offences, the court said, was for courts to decide. ”There cannot be a trial by the media. Whether he is guilty or not should be decided by the courts. It’s not for the media to decide. Let the children be kept safe. Please show some sensitivity,” the bench said.

The court noted that the investigation remained at a crucial stage, with the police examining whether there were more victims. It also referred to the “2008 Mumbai terror attack”, observing that “constant media reporting of the steps being taken by Indian defence forces had helped the terrorists evade them.”

The court made the observations while hearing a plea filed by an NGO, Tulir, seeking a John Doe order against those circulating the material. It directed news outlets and websites to show restraint but declined to pass a blanket order.

Veeramani and two of his aides were arrested on August 28 this year, following an investigation into allegations that minor girls had been sexually assaulted at a private residence in Chennai’s Teynampet area. The Police said the case followed the receipt of a USB drive containing video clips allegedly showing Veeramani sexually assaulting juvenile girls. The two other accused, Mahendra Simhan and his wife Shanti, were caretakers of the house.

The Tamil Nadu government has formed an all-woman Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the matter. The SIT team would comprise additional commissioner of police (Central Crime Branch) P C Thenmozhi, joint commissioner (West Zone) Disha Mittal, superintendent of police J Mutharasi and deputy commissioner of police, (crime against women and children) V V Geethanjali, the government said.

The high court directed the SIT to “issue a press release once every week” informing the public about the steps taken in the investigation. The state informed the court that police had begun identifying those responsible for leaking the videos and assured the court that the leak had not originated from the police. Noting that some of the material was already available online, the police had approached Google and Meta seeking its removal, it added.

The Court directed the respondents, including several media outlets named in the plea, to file their counter affidavits responding to the plea and posted the matter to September 30 for further hearing. The plea by Tulir sought directions to prevent further circulation of the videos and protect the identity and privacy of the victims.

It said the footage could enable people familiar with the circumstances to identify the children even if their names were not disclosed. In a separate but related hearing, a bench of chief justice SA Dharmadhikari and justice G Arul Murugan agreed to hear a plea seeking a CBI probe into the case.

In a fierce attack on the opposition, chief minister C Joseph Vijay accused the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) of colluding to hide the case, questioning their “silence” over the years.

Alluding to Veeramani in his speech during a bypoll campaign in Madurantakam, Vijay said, “This case came up even during the previous DMK government too, but they closed and hid that case and its history.”

“What kind of deal is going on? Tamil Nadu is asking questions. Open your mouth, (DMK chief) Stalin Sir. Along with you, the others are also staying quiet. Will you stay silent even by forming an alliance (with the AIADMK) on this issue?” he asked.

Hitting out at the claims made by the DMK that they were born ‘solely’ for women’s safety, Vijay said, “This man has ruined so many young women. We have put him in jail. And now, they (DMK and AIADMK) are not talking about him.”

“If you cannot even speak about their pain, then what kind of politics have you been doing all these years?” he asked.