The Bombay High Court on Wednesday took suo motu cognisance of the alleged sexual assault of two girls at a school in Badlapur town of Maharashtra. The high court heard the matter on Thursday. A division bench of Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice Prithviraj Chavan took up the case. The bench rapped the Maharashtra government over lapses in filing a proper case and asked for details of the FIR.
Here are the highlights of argument in the court
- Advocate General: SIT has started its investigation yesterday and the accused has been arrested.
- Judge: Has the statement been recorded under 164?
- Advocate General: It will be done today.
- Judge: Has any action been taken under POCSO?
- Advocate General: A woman officer was present when the case was registered.
- Judge: We need the case diary and FIR.
- Judge: Have the statements of both the girls been recorded?
- Advocate General: Yes, they have been recorded but not under 164. Statements will be recorded under 164 today. The police went to the girls' house and took statements.
- Judge: If the school knew about it and did not take action under the POCSO Act, was any action taken against them?
- Advocate General: No action has been taken. The SIT will take action on that.
- Judge: When it is written in the FIR that the school was informed about this, then the police should have taken action against the school earlier.
- Judge: Why is there no mention of the second victim in the FIR.
- Advocate General: Yes, it is written in the last part of the FIR that there is another victim.
The matter was adjourned till Tuesday afternoon. The Advocate General took the name of the victim while reading the FIR in the court. The court stopped him and reprimanded him. Later, the Advocate General apologized.
The court was now told by Thane police that the statement of the second victim has not been recorded yet. The judges got angry. Earlier it was said and now they are saying that it has not been done.
Earlier, a city-based lawyer on Tuesday requested the Bombay High Court to take suo motu cognisance of the matter. Advocate Ajinkya Gaikwad approached Justice Bharati Dangre with his plea in the evening, but the judge asked him to approach the appropriate division or two-member bench. A single bench cannot hear such matters, Justice Dangre said.
What happened in Badlapur?
Two kindergarten students, aged three and four, were allegedly sexually abused by a 23-year-old male school attendant last week which sparked off a massive protest on Tuesday and Wednesday.
While the accused has been arrested, the Maharashtra government earlier in the day ordered the formation of a special investigation team headed by senior IPS officer Arti Singh to probe the case.
Court extends police custody of accused till August 26
Meanwhile, a local court on Wednesday extended till August 26 the police custody of the accused. The attendant at the school was produced before a magistrate at Kalyan in Thane district amid elaborate security arrangements.
Opposition calls for Maharashtra bandh on August 24
The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has called for a “Maharashtra bandh” on August 24 to protest against the alleged sexual assault on the two girls.
Maharashtra education department in action
Maharashtra education department on Wednesday asked all schools in the state to install CCTV cameras within a month, in the wake of the Badlapur sexual abuse case.
A police official said initial probe suggests that some anti- social elements took advantage of the protest in Badlapur on Tuesday. Police are probing how such a large crowd gathered at the Badlapur railway station, he said.
Police are also examining some phone calls and videos in this regard, the official said.
Internet services in Badlapur were suspended on Wednesday, a day after the massive protest over the alleged sexual abuse case and 72 persons have been arrested in connection with the violence during the stir, officials said.
At least 25 police personnel were injured in the incidents of stone-pelting at the railway station and other parts of Badlapur during the protest as thousands of protesters blocked railway tracks at the station and stormed the school building.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said he has ordered the formation of a special investigation team headed by senior IPS officer Arti Singh, while Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said action will be taken against the school and the guilty won’t be spared.
NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule targeted the state government over the Badlapur sexual abuse case and demanded the resignation Fadnavis, who holds the home portfolio.
(With PTI inputs)
