The Madras High Court has set aside a deadline for victims of sexual abuse and harassment to report an offence, saying an assault that causes “grave mental trauma” can be investigated at any time. 

The court’s decision centres on a petition filed by R Mohanakrishnan, a superintendent of Nilgiris police station in Tamil Nadu, who challenged an internal investigation into a rape complaint filed against him by a junior assistant more than four years after the alleged incident occurred.