CHENNAI: Madras High Court grants leave to POCSO convict for family duties

Chennai: The Madras High Court has ordered the prison department to grant 21 days of normal leave without police protection to a POCSO convict to attend to his family responsibilities.

A division bench of Justice MS Ramesh and Justice Sundar Mohan recently passed the order on a petition filed by Nirosha, wife of convict Rajesh Kumar. “The petitioner’s husband is granted 21 days’ ordinary leave without escort, with the condition that he will report daily before the Inspector of Police, New Washermanpet Police Station at 10.30 am,” the order said.

The bench ordered Kumar to report before the officer by 5 pm on February 8 at the end of his leave period. The petitioner had moved the court seeking an order to the prison department to grant normal leave to her husband to raise funds to meet the education and medical expenses of their two sons.

He said that when Rajesh was released on leave on January 16, he was accompanied by policemen in uniform, despite court directions that the escort should be in plain clothes.