A Mahila Court on Monday awarded life sentence for a minimum period of 30 years without remission to the accused Gnanasekaran, who has been convicted of sexually assaulting a student on the Anna University campus in December last year.

Mahila Court judge M Rajalakshmi, who convicted Gnanasekaran on May 28, awarded sentences in respect of each 11 charges proved by the prosecution against him. The sentences run concurrently, the judge added. While convicting the accused, the court held that the prosecution proved the sexual assault charges that had rocked Tamil Nadu in December 2024, beyond reasonable doubt. 

The judge, while convicting Gnanasekaran, said that he sought a lenient sentence claiming he was the sole breadwinner of the family and prosecution objected to it while seeking maximum punishment. The sensational case had triggered a political row over Gnanasekaran's alleged connections with the ruling DMK in the state, although the party president and Chief Minister M K Stalin had in January said he was only a sympathiser and supporter, and not a member of the Dravidian party.