The Bombay High Court made strong observations Thursday as it took suo moto cognisance of a plea regarding the sexual assault of two children last week at a school in Badlapur in Maharashtra. "If schools are not a safe place... then what is the point of talking about 'right to education'?" it asked.
The court also reprimanded the police and state on several counts, including failing to file a case - in a disturbing reminder of how Kolkata's RG Kar Hospital delayed filing a case in the rape and murder of a doctor this month - against the school despite complaints from the girls.
"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 (four and three years old) 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.
READ | Parents Made To Wait 11 Hours In Police Station Before FIR In Thane Horror
"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.
READ | Badlapur School Chose Cover-Up Over Helping Parents: Child Rights Panel
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 had triggered massive protests in Badlapur and beyond, particularly since it came soon after the horrific events at Kolkata's RG Kar Hospital.
A 23-year-old school janitor was arrested in the Badlapur case. Public outrage was also been fuelled by the parents having to wait 11 hours to file a police case; three cops involved have been suspended.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has also assured action against the school, adding that the case will be fast-tracked and the guilty won't be spared. The state has ordered all schools to install CCTVs within a month, and warned that failure to comply may result in revocation of the permission to operate.
Further, the footage is to be examined at least three times a week, and it will be the principal's responsibility to contact the police if any incident is captured on the cameras, the order said.
