Chennai, Sep 24 (PTI) Two key accused in the POCSO case involving granite baron R Veeramani moved the POCSO Special Court on Thursday seeking bail.
The court directed the police to file a counter affidavit in response to the bail petitions filed by Shanthi and Mahendra Simhan, associates of Veeramani, founder of Gem Granites.
The two accused were arrested in connection with the case and subsequently produced before a court, which remanded them to judicial custody, police said.
The arrests came amid a political row in Tamil Nadu over the POCSO case against Veeramani (84), who was arrested for the alleged sexual abuse of several minor girls.
When the matter came up for hearing, Judge Padma directed the prosecution to submit its detailed response and adjourned the case to September 29.
In their joint bail plea, the duo questioned the validity of the proceedings, citing the significant delay between the alleged offence and registration of the FIR. They pointed out that the complaint, registered in October 2025, pertained to an incident that allegedly occurred in 2019.
The petitioners argued that the complainant was neither an alleged victim nor a parent or legal guardian of the alleged victims.
Maintaining that the investigation had substantially progressed, they said the evidence had already been collected, and there was no possibility of them tampering with witnesses.
They submitted that they had been in judicial custody for nearly four weeks without the police seeking their custody for interrogation. They expressed their willingness to comply with any conditions imposed by the court while granting bail.
Opposing the bail plea, the prosecution told the court that all procedures had been strictly followed during the arrests and that the accused had been produced before the magistrate without delay.
The police said the identities of the survivors were being kept confidential to protect their privacy in accordance with the law. PTI SNR SSK
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