IIT Madras professors granted advance bail in sexual assault case

Chennai: The Madras High Court on Wednesday granted advance bail to two professors attached to the Indian Institute of Technology (Madras), who apprehended arrest in connection with the rape and sexual harassment of a research scholar.

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Justice G Jayachandran granted the relief with the condition that they should not leave Tamil Nadu without the consent of the CB-CID and the country without obtaining the permission of the court. According to Professors G Edamana Prasad and Ramesh L Gardas they had been arrayed as fifth and seventh accused in the case.

The other accused named in the FIR were the students of the chemistry department. The victim had lodged a complaint with the IIT management against only the first two accused. But the management did not find any substantive evidence.

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However, to give moral peace to the victim, the institute allowed her to complete her research without the interference of any of the accused and directed the accused students to stay out of the campus and complete their studies by being day scholars.

They were also instructed not to have any interaction with the complainant. Moreover, the petitioners claimed their names never figured in the internal inquiry by the institute. But strangely, their names were included as accused in the FIR.