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Madras HC directs police not to harass Rippling co-founder
Justice GK Ilanthiraiyan allowed and disposed of Sankaranarayanan’s petition urging the court to exercise its jurisdiction to direct the police to not harass him under the guise of a probe
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The Madras high court on Thursday directed Chennai Police not to harass software firm Rippling’s co-founder Prasanna Sankaranarayanan, who is embroiled in a bitter divorce battle with his estranged wife.
In an X thread this week, Sankaranarayanan accused his wife of filing false cases to abduct their son and making false allegations of him being a sexual predator and being charged in a prostitution case in the United States.
Justice GK Ilanthiraiyan allowed and disposed of Sankaranarayanan’s petition urging the court to exercise its jurisdiction under Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita’s Section 528 to direct the police to not harass him under the guise of a probe.
Senior advocates A Ramesh and Geeta Luthra, representing Sankaranarayanan, moved the petition before the court on March 24, alleging the police have been harassing him at his wife’s behest.
The petition accused the police of arbitrarily harassing him and interfering in a civil matter between him and his wife. It added that the police were forcibly trying to take his son away. The plea said that the son was in his custody and “happy, safe, and well cared for.”
The petition claimed police made repeated attempts to enter his hotel room and vacation rental in Chennai to take his son away between March 7 and 12. It added the police visited Bengaluru and allegedly harassed his mother and friend, forcing them to ask him to hand his son over to the police.
The plea blamed “false and malicious complaint” of Sankaranarayanan’s wife for the police action against him and his family and friends. It said Sankaranarayanan signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with his wife in February this year, agreeing to a divorce by mutual consent and joint custody of their son. The plea said they agreed to reside in Chennai and to keep their son’s travel documents secured in a joint locker.
The plea said the wife then reportedly travelled to Chennai and handed over the son’s custody to Sankaranarayanan voluntarily on March 3. She then allegedly filed a false complaint against him. The plea said she violated the MoU by refusing to deposit their son’s travel documents in a joint locker. It added that she has refused to appear before a Chennai court where their divorce case is pending.
