Acting Chief Justice T Raja and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy, while dismissing the petition, imposed a cost of Rs 50,000 on petitioner Balachandar Ganesan, of Chennai, for filing the petition without being aware of the fact that the Madurai Bench had already directed action against the concerned police officer. Advocate General (AG) R Shunmugasundaram

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Monday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) petition seeking direction to inquire about former chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami in connection with the disclosure of the names of victims and complainants in the Pollcachi sexual harassment case.

The first bench comprising Acting Chief Justice T Raja and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy, while dismissing the petition, imposed a cost of Rs 50,000 on petitioner Balachandar Ganesan, of Chennai, for filing the petition without being aware of the fact that the Madurai Bench had already directed action against the concerned police officer.

Advocate General (AG) R Shunmugasundaram informed the court that the government has proposed to take action against a top police officer concerned with the matter. Ganesan, in his petition, stated the then SP (Coimbatore Rural) Pandiarajan had revealed the names of the victims and even in the GO, passed for transferring the probe to CBI, the victim’s names and colleges where they were studying were disclosed.

He prayed for the court to pass necessary orders to inquire Edappadi Palaniswami and the then chief secretary and the SP for disclosing the names of the victims and complainants.