The Bombay High Court on Thursday, made strong remarks after taking suo moto cognizance of a case concerning the sexual assault of two children last week. at a school in Badlapur, Maharashtra.
“If schools are not a safe place… then what is the point of talking about ‘right to education’?” it asked.
The court also criticized the police and state for several lapses, including their failure to file a case against the school despite complaints from the girls. This situation is troublingly similar to the recent delay at Kolkata’s RG Kar Hospital in filing a case related to the rape and murder of a doctor earlier this month.
“What kind of situation is this… this is extremely shocking,” a bench of Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice Prithivraj Chavan said this afternoon, as it took the cops and state to task.
“Did the girls complain to the school authorities,” the court asked and was told they had.
“So did you register any case… POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) provides for impleading even school authorities for not reporting the crime,” the court said.
“SIT is formed… now it will,” Advocate General Birendra Saraf, arguing for the state, responded, but the court was unimpressed, replying, “But a case against the school should have been done by now… the minute the FIR was lodged you should have registered a case against the school authorities.”
The state had formed a special team to be led by senior IPS officer Arti Singh.
“This is such a serious offence. Two girls were sexually assaulted… how can the police not take this seriously? We want to know what steps you are taking to ensure schoolgirls’ safety. The safety and security of girls cannot be compromised… at all.”
The court also wanted to know if the minor girls had received counselling to deal with the trauma. “We can’t lose sight of what happened…” the judges asked of the state government.
The High Court then demanded details about the inquiry’s timeline, including when the Special Investigation Team, or SIT, was formed and why local police did not hand over all documents.
It also demanded to know why the second girl had not been listed in the FIR, despite having been mentioned in the statement given by the first girl’s parents. “Ensure second victim’s statement is recorded today and video-record everything,” the court ordered the authorities.
“Why didn’t the Badlapur Police submit entire record to the SIT… Why are you suppressing facts from us?” the court asked, raising questions about the cops’ investigation.
“We don’t know how this police investigated the case… it did hardly anything”, asking if the cops had followed the law and recorded both girls’ statements, as required under Section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which directs police to complete investigations without unnecessary delay.
Mr Saraf stressed, however, that a SIT had been formed and that the police had handed over all documents, and also that the second girl’s statement would be recorded today.
“We expect you not only record statement of girls but also families. We want to see the case file by next date. We want to see what investigation was done by the police…” the court said sternly.
The court fixed Tuesday as the next date of hearing, and warned Mr Saraf, “AG… you have a lot of answers to give on the probe by Badlapur Police.”
The sexual assaults sparked widespread protests in Badlapur and beyond, especially coming on the heels of the horrific events at Kolkata’s RG Kar Hospital. A 23-year-old school janitor was arrested in connection with the Badlapur case. Public outrage was further fueled by the parents having to wait 11 hours to file a police report, leading to the suspension of three officers involved.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has promised action against the school, stating that the case will be fast-tracked and that those responsible will not escape justice. The state has mandated that all schools install CCTVs within a month and has warned that failure to do so could lead to the revocation of their operating permits.
Additionally, the footage must be reviewed at least three times a week. The order stipulates that it will be the principal’s responsibility to contact the police if any incidents are captured on the cameras.