CHENNAI: Granting no relief to a man who allegedly sexually abused his partner’s child from the time she was in Class 3, the Madras High Court has refused to grant him bail on the grounds that there was a real risk of her being pressured to withdraw her allegations if he was released.

Justice N Ramesh passed the order while dismissing a bail petition filed by Kumaresan, who was arrested on September 26 and has been in custody since then.

The abuse came to light after the survivor, now aged 21, was reported missing on September 25. The police traced her the same day. Later, in her statement to a judicial magistrate on October 6, she said Kumaresan, who entered her mother’s life when she was in Class 2, has been sexually abusing her from Class 3 after threatening to kill her mother if she disclosed it.

The abuse continued over the years, and after she joined college, he monitored her through photographs, video calls, and location tracking. Despite her complaints, her mother failed to act, citing the family's reputation and her education, she alleged.

On September 20, he took her from the Poonamallee bus stand to an apartment, where he sexually assaulted her. Three days later, she moved to a paying guest accommodation in Chennai with the help of a friend, where the police traced her.

Based on her complaint, the Kancheepuram police registered a case under BNS and also Pocso Act, and arraigned her mother as the second accused for failing to report the abuse despite being informed of it.

When Kumaresan’s bail petition came up for hearing, his counsel argued that the survivor had left home with her friends but falsely implicated him and her own mother after being traced.

Rejecting the plea, Justice Ramesh observed that the materials in the case did not favour granting bail at this stage. The accused, who was about 15 years older than the survivor, occupied the position of a father in her life from childhood, and had access to her home through his relationship with her mother.

The court also noted that the alleged abuse continued for years and was concealed through threats and the silence of her mother. The survivor, therefore, had no one at home to support her independently of the petitioner, the judge said.

The court also noted that the survivor had spoken of threats as recently as September 20 and that her evidence was yet to be recorded. Since the investigation was only a month old, there was a real risk of her being pressured, directly or through her mother, to withdraw her allegations if the petitioner was released, the court said.

The judge then directed the police to complete the investigation and file the final report within two months, as required under Section 193 (2) of the BNSS.