Chennai, Sep 25: A special POCSO court here on Friday extended till October 9 the judicial custody of granite businessman R. Veeramani, who was arrested in a child rape case, while the Madras High Court restrained media and digital platforms from discussing the factual details of the case under investigation.
Veeramani, chairman of Gem Granites, was arrested on August 29 by the Chennai Police Anti-Vice Squad under the POCSO Act. He is lodged in Puzhal prison and was produced before Special Judge S. Padma through video-conferencing.
Meanwhile, Justice V. Lakshminarayanan directed mainstream media, YouTube channels and other digital platforms not to publish, broadcast, circulate or reproduce videos or screenshots connected with the alleged crime.
The court said the restrictions would not prevent discussions on the broader issue of child abuse, provided they did not touch upon the factual matrix of the case being investigated by the Greater Chennai City Police.
An all-women Special Investigation Team (SIT), constituted by DGP Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal, has been tasked with investigating the case. The court directed the SIT to issue weekly press releases to keep the public informed about the progress of the probe.
The State Public Prosecutor R. John Sathyan told the court that police would register a separate FIR over the alleged leak of child sexual abuse videos related to the case to the media.
“We are investigating it too. If found true, we will certainly take action. We are on it,” Sathyan said.
The judge expressed concern that the circulation of such material could discourage other possible victims from approaching the police.
“There are things more important in life than TRP ratings,” Justice Lakshminarayanan told the counsel for a television channel during the hearing.
The judge also observed that the rights of the accused could not be ignored, saying, “How much ever you abhor his acts; assuming he did it, he also has certain rights.”
On the issue of media reporting, the court said, “The press has the right to report, but whether this right to report includes a right to media trial would have to be probed into by this court.”The High Court adjourned further hearing of the matter to September 30 after the respondents file their counter affidavits.
