Tamil Nadu police do not have a crystal ball or magic wand to solve cases in a jiffy: Madras High Court

The Tamil Nadu police do not have a crystal ball or a magic wand for people to expect the investigators to solve even sensitive cases such as the child sexual abuse case booked against R. Veeramani of Gem Granites within four days of formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT), the Madras High Court wrote on Wednesday (September 30, 2026).

Justice V. Lakshminarayanan made the observation in an interim order passed in a writ petition filed by R. Varaaki seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the case booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. The petitioner had apprehended that the State police might not probe the case properly.

When the judge wanted to know the basis for such an apprehension, the petitioner’s counsel replied the Tamil Nadu government had recently kept two Indian Police Service (IPS) officers on compulsory wait following complaints of them having attempted to cover up the crime during the previous regime. Immediately, the judge retorted: “Then, it means, the government is taking action.”

He went to tell the counsel: “It is a very sensitive matter. You people are not realising that this is not an area to play politics. I am concerned more about the children. You are not serious of what happened at all. There are other cases in which you can gain publicity. Please don’t interfere in this case. Lot of children belonging to the Scheduled Castes are the victims in this case.”

However, the petitioner’s counsel replied that the cause of concern was the suspected involvement of some senior IPS officers in hushing up the crime in the past. Justice Lakshminarayanan said, the SIT would have to necessarily investigate that angle too and that the petitioner or any other person, in possession of information regarding the case, could share it with the team.

On the counsel’s insistence that an independent agency must probe the case because it involves allegations of cover up against serving IPS officers, the judge said: “Then, lets transfer it to the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation). They are totally independent. They have nothing to do with India at all. The CBI too has IPS officers, where do they come from?”

Later, the judge directed State Public Prosecutor R. John Sathyan, assisted by Additional Public Prosecutor Arun Anbumani, to make sure confidentiality was maintained with respect to all those who share information with the SIT in connection with the POCSO case and file a status report before the court by October 7, 2026 on the investigation conducted so far.

He recorded the submission of the writ petitioner that he too would appear before the SIT on Thursday (October 1, 2026) and share all the information available with him with respect to the case.