Kerala HC quashes sexual assault case tied to PV Anvar's allegations against cops

Kochi: A division bench of Kerala High Court on Wednesday quashed a single bench order which had directed the registration of a case against several police officers, including the former Malappuram SP and DySP, following allegations of sexual assault and harassment by a woman from Ponanni. The judgement is of bench led by Chief Justice Nithin Madhukar Jamdar.

The single bench had earlier instructed the Ponanni Magistrate Court to register a case against former Malappuram police chief Sujith Das, former DySP of Tirur V.V. Benny, and former Ponanni Inspector Vinod Valliyattoor. Following this, Vinod approached the division bench, and the ruling forms part of this decision.

Earlier, police had submitted a report to the High Court stating that the woman’s complaint lacked clarity regarding the time and location of the alleged incidents. The report labelled the allegations as baseless. 

The woman’s allegations

The woman accused the police officers of harassment and assault, stating that the incidents occurred after she visited the Ponnani police station in 2022 to file a complaint regarding a property dispute. She alleged that the inspector, who arrived at her house to investigate the matter, sexually harassed her. When the complaint regarding sexual assault was filed, the then Tirur DySP allegedly spoke in a manner that insulted her dignity. She also claimed that a few days later, he harassed her. The complainant also approached the then Malappuram District Police Chief, who also allegedly harassed her.

Woman speaks out after MLA’s allegations

The woman came forward with her charges after MLA PV Anwar publicly accused SP Sujith Das of serious misconduct. She stated that she found the courage to speak out after the MLA’s bold stance against the officer.