Bengaluru, June 17 -- The Chennai court's decision to hand down a 30-year, no-remission jail sentence to a 37-year-old man for sexually assaulting a 19-year-old Anna University student hinged on the survivor's "unwavering" and "courageous" testimony. Her consistent narrative, maintained from her initial complaint to her powerful court appearance, formed the bedrock of the prosecution's case, a copy of the judgment accessed by HT has revealed. District Judge M Rajalakshmi, who presided over 31 hearings between March and May this year before delivering the final judgment just five months after the crime, repeatedly emphasised in her June 2 verdict that the second-year student's account did not waver under scrutiny and was corroborated by strong scientific and electronic evidence. The judgment noted that the survivor "had no hesitation in narrating the incident," and that her testimony was "unshaken" throughout. The court found that her detailed statements, beginning with the FIR filed on the night of December 23, 2024 - hours after the assault, were fully supported by digital, forensic and circumstantial evidence, enabling conviction on all 11 charges, including rape, kidnapping, criminal intimidation and trespass. "From the oral evidence given by PW1 (the victim), which is corroborated by her previous statement and the scientific evidence, the prosecution has proved all the 11 charges," the court noted in its 178-page judgment. The crime, committed in a secluded area of the university, was described by the judge as "barbaric." She acknowledged the profound trauma it caused the student and observed that the assault violated not just the individual but also the sanctity of a space presumed to be safe for students. "Taking into consideration the mental agony of the victim, this court found it lawful to award compensation in addition to the interim compensation awarded," the judgment stated. The student promptly approached authorities, accompanied by a professor from the university's Internal Complaints Committee, triggering an urgent probe. The accused, Gnanasekaran - a repeat offender with more than 15 prior criminal cases, was arrested within 48 hours. The judgment also documented the psychological manipulation the accused employed, including threats to leak videos and calls made to the victim's father, which the court said symbolised the mental pressure exerted on her. Yet, the survivor was not deterred and continued to fully cooperate with investigators, it further noted....