Court lauds student's testimony in Anna varsity case

The Chennai court's decision to hand down a 30-year, no-remission jail sentence to a 37-year-old man for sexually assaulting a 19-year-old Anna University student hinged on the survivor's "unwavering" and "courageous" testimony.

- Ayesha Arvind

BENGALURU: Her consistent narrative, maintained from her initial complaint to her powerful court appearance, formed the bedrock of the prosecution's case, a copy of the judgment accessed by HT has revealed.

District Judge M Rajalakshmi, who presided over 31 hearings between March and May this year before delivering the final judgment just five months after the crime, repeatedly emphasized in her June 2 verdict that the second-year student's account did not waver under scrutiny and was corroborated by strong scientific and electronic evidence. The judgment noted that the survivor "had no hesitation in narrating the incident," and that her testimony was "unshaken" throughout.

The court found that her detailed statements, beginning with the FIR filed on the night of December 23, 2024—hours after the assault, were fully supported by digital, forensic and circumstantial evidence, enabling conviction on all 11 charges, including rape, kidnapping, criminal intimidation and trespass. "From the oral evidence given by PW1 (the victim), which is corroborated by her previous statement and the scientific evidence, the prosecution has proved all the 11 charges," the court noted in its 178-page judgment.