The Supreme Court on May 7 canceled the anticipatory bail granted to a suspended Tamil Nadu police officer accused of sexually harassing a female law student on a moving train, holding that the Madras High Court’s decision to protect him from arrest merely because administrative proceedings had already begun was unsustainable under the law.
A bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and S V N Bhatti strongly disagreed with the reasoning adopted by the Supreme Court while granting pre-arrest bail to head constable Sheikh Abdullah Mohammed, whose alleged misconduct on the Coimbatore Central intercity train in December 2025 had sparked outrage in the state and renewed concerns over women’s safety on public transport.
“The manner in which the order has been passed and the reasoning that defendant No. 1 (Abdullah) has been suspended from work and therefore deserves extension of bail, is beyond our minds,” the bench said in the May 7 order, issued on Monday.
The Supreme Court set aside the January 7 order of the Madras High Court and remanded the matter for fresh consideration of the anticipatory bail application filed by the police officer on merits and in accordance with law.
“We set aside the impugned order dated 01.07.2026 and remanded the matter to the Supreme Court to consider afresh the anticipatory bail of respondent No. 1 on merits, expeditiously in accordance with law,” the bench said.
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It also allowed the appeal filed by the law student who was represented in court by advocate Vishal Sinha.
The accused has been booked under Sections 62, 75 and 304 (2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Act along with the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act, 2002.
According to the prosecution, the incident occurred in late December when the 23-year-old law student was traveling alone on the train. The policeman, identified as Sheikh Abdullah Mohammed, was allegedly returning from his security duty in Chennai when he inappropriately touched and harassed the woman as the train was approaching Katpadi.
The student recorded the alleged misconduct on her mobile phone and informed the railway police. The officer was then detained from the train, and a criminal case was subsequently filed against him. He was later placed under arrest pending investigation.
The matter sparked widespread public anger in the state, especially since the accused was a serving police officer charged with public safety duties.
While the Madras High Court granted anticipatory bail earlier this year, it noted that the officer had already been suspended from duty and custodial interrogation was unnecessary.
But the Supreme Court found that the reasons were insufficient and legally indefensible. “The High Court has granted pre-arrest bail to respondent No. 1, simply for the reason that respondent No. 1, who is working in the police, has been suspended from service with immediate effect and that there would be no need for custodial interrogation,” the bench noted while quashing the order.
Without expressing any final opinion on the merits of the charges, the Supreme Court ordered the Supreme Court to reconsider the bail application again after hearing all parties.
“It will be open to both parties to raise whatever defenses are available to them in law,” the court added.
