The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has granted bail to former Madurai Corporation Councillor and BJP functionary Sahirsha (wrongly mentioned as M.S. Sha in the FIR) arrested under the POCSO Act in 2024.

The case of the prosecution was that the de facto complainant, the father of the girl, while checking her mobile phone found that the petitioner was in contact with his daughter.

The petitioner sent sexual messages and dirty pictures to his daughter. It was also said that the wife of the de facto complainant also induced the girl to be in a relationship with the petitioner.

According to the police, the father of the girl had complained that the petitioner, who had an illicit relationship with his wife, was trying to seduce his daughter too.

The petitioner said he was innocent and had not committed any offence as alleged by the prosecution. Earlier, the mother of the girl had lodged a complaint against the de facto complainant for misbehaving with her daughter. The de facto complainant was arrested and later released on bail, the petitioner said.

The petitioner said he was 63 years old and had been in judicial custody since January 13. He said that he was ready to abide by the conditions imposed by the court. The State submitted that the investigation in the case was complete and the chargesheet had been filed.

Justice R. Sakthivel considered the age of the petitioner and the period of incarceration and granted bail with conditions to the petitioner. The court directed the petitioner to furnish details with regard to residential address and mobile number to the Special Court for Exclusive Trial of Cases under POCSO Act Cases, Madurai.

The petitioner was directed to stay in Chennai and appear and sign at Egmore police station every day till further orders.