Badlapur schoolgirls rape: Court denies pre-arrest bail for school trustees

THE BOMBAY High Court on Tuesday refused pre-arrest bail to two accused school trustees in the Badlapur sexual assault case, and also came down heavily on police for failing to arrest them so far.

A division bench of the high court gave an earful to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case for its inability to apprehend the duo, asking whether it was waiting for the accused to obtain pre-arrest bail.

Subsequently, another judge of the high court rejected their anticipatory bail applications.

Justice R N Laddha noted in his order that the offence was serious, and the chairman and secretary of the school - where the alleged sexual assault of two kindergarten girls took place in August - were responsible for the management of the school.

"Prima facie there is material to show that the two accused were aware of the alleged incident before August 16, but they failed to take any steps to report the same to the police or local authority," the judge observed.

"The victims are minors. The trauma they have endured can profoundly affect their adolescent years leaving them with lasting psychological scars," the court said.

It was undisputed that the applicants were responsible for managing the school, it added.

"There is prima facie material indicating that the victims' parents had voiced their grievances to the class teacher and other staff members. The applicants were aware of the incident before August 16," the HC said.

The delay in lodging a police complaint was "primarily because of applicants' negligence for reasons known only to them, the judge said.

Earlier in the day, a division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan while hearing a public interest litigation taken up suo motu (on its own) regarding the case reprimanded the SIT.

The bench was informed by Advocate General Birendra Saraf that the SIT was taking all steps to apprehend the duo.

Police sent only notices

After going through the case diary, the HC noted that the SIT had only sent notices to the duo through WhatsApp and email.

"The police goes to any extent to nab an accused. How come they have not been able to apprehend these two? Are they waiting for them to get anticipatory bail?" the division bench asked.

Saraf assured that all steps were being taken to nab the two.

The bench then posted the matter for further hearing on October 23, seeking details of the action taken against the errant Badlapur police officials who failed to register a First Information Report promptly and investigate the case properly.

After the crime came to light and caused widespread outrage, a case was registered against the chairman and secretary of the school under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) for not reporting the incident to police immediately.

Justice Laddha, while rejecting the anticipatory bail applications of the duo, noted that there is a legal obligation to report an offence under the POCSO Act if a person is aware of it, or is made aware of it. He also cited Supreme Court rulings on this aspect.

"This duty is not merely a procedure that can be overlooked. The repercussions of failure to report such offences are serious," the HC said.

The court also noted that CCTV footage of the school premises from the day of the incident was missing.

The school's chairman and secretary had moved the high court seeking pre-arrest bail after a sessions court refused them relief.

They claimed that they were unaware of the alleged offence. Their applications also raised suspicion about whether the alleged incidents took place, claiming that the two victim girls had attended the flag-hoisting ceremony on August 15, and no complaint was made then.

Public Prosecutor Hiten Venegaonkar opposed their pleas, noting that they had not taken prompt action after being informed about the incidents.

Two girls, aged four and five years, were allegedly sexually abused by a male attendant inside the toilet of the school at Badlapur in Thane district in August.

Akshay Shinde, the accused, was arrested, but was shot dead by police in an alleged shoot-out on September 23. (PTI)