The Madras High Court has appointed R. Nandhinidevi, who had been handling the trial of the Pollachi sexual assault case, as Sessions Jude, Mahila Court in Coimbatore, after her brief transfer to a court in Salem.
As per a transfer order of the Registrar General of the High Court, Ms. Nandhinidevi was reinstated to her previous post on May 20. She has replaced K. Hariharan, who has been appointed as Second Additional District Judge (CBI cases), Coimbatore.
Ms. Nandhinidevi had been posted as the Chairman of the Permanent Lok Adalat, Salem, on May 9. This had led to discontent among the prosecution and survivors as the judge had been handling the case from the initial stage, after it was transferred from the CBI court to the Mahila court in 2020.
The trial in the sensational case started on February 24, 2023. Sources said that trial in the case was in the final stages when the judge was transferred to Salem, leading to discontent among prosecution, survivors and investigators.
It is learnt that the trial court completed examination of officers of the local police station and CB-CID who investigated the case before the CBI took over the probe. Examination of investigating officers from the CBI alone was pending, said sources.
Published - May 21, 2024 09:31 pm IST
