In the Badlapur sexual assault case, the Bombay High Court denies two accused school trustees pre-arrest bail.
In connection with a case of sexual assault involving two young girls, the chairman and secretary of the school have been denied bail by the Bombay High Court. The court underlined the severe repercussions under the POCSO Act and noted their failure to disclose the occurrence despite knowing about it.
Case of sexual assault in Badlapur: On Tuesday, the Bombay High Court denied pre-arrest bail to the principal and secretary of the school in Badlapur, where a male attendant sexually attacked two young girls.
The two defendants were informed of the alleged occurrence, according to a single bench of Justice R N Laddha, but they chose not to notify the police or local authorities.
Judge Laddha went on to say that the crime is grave and that the court must take the welfare of the young victims into account.
"Children are the victims. The court stated that the trauma they have experienced may have a permanent psychological impact on their adolescent years.
The court decided that there is no question that the applicants are the ones in charge of running the institution.
"There is preliminary evidence suggesting that the parents of the deceased had complained to the instructor and other staff members. Prior to August 16, the applicants were aware of the incident. They failed to notify the police of the occurrence despite being aware of it, according to the HC.
The bench stated that the applicants' carelessness, which was known only to them, was the main cause of the case's filing delay.
It further said that individuals have a legal duty to report the offence if they become aware of it or are informed of it.
The court also stated that there is a gap in the CCTV footage of the school's grounds from the day of the incident.
The HC cited rulings from the Supreme Court as well as provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act, which impose a requirement on anybody learning of a sexual assault to report the crime to the police right away.
This responsibility extends beyond a routine that can be disregarded. The consequences of not reporting such offences are severe, according to the HC.
It stated that while handling cases in which educational institutions or schools have neglected to disclose sexual offences against minors, the courts should proceed with caution.
What was stated by the defendant in the plea for pre-arrest bail?
The chairman and secretary of the Badlapur school filed a petition with the High Court to overturn the sessions court's denial of their request for pre-arrest bail.
They argued that they cannot be held accountable for the alleged offence because they were not aware of it.
The two further asserted that there had been an inexplicable hold-up in filing the FIR.
They also raised suspicion on whether the incident took place, alleging the two victims had attended the flag-hoisting ceremony in the school on August 15 and no complaint was lodged then.
The POCSO Act's several clauses have been used to charge the two accused for their negligence and delayed reporting of the incident to the police.
What took place at Badlapur?
Police claim that in August, a male school attendant sexually assaulted two girls, ages four and five, inside the school's restroom.
The police in Badlapur were investigating the case. However, the Maharashtra government established a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into the matter following public outrage over significant shortcomings in the police investigation.
After being taken into custody, the male attendant, Akshay Shinde, was shot and killed by police on September 23.
According to police, the school's secretary and chairman have not yet been taken into custody.
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