The Bombay High Court on Thursday (August 22) expressed serious concerns about school safety, emphasising that if schools cannot ensure safety, the discourse on the right to education becomes meaningless. “If schools are not safe, what value do concepts like the right to education hold? It’s shocking that even 4-year-old girls are not spared,” remarked Justice Mohite-Dere, during the bench’s hearing of the alleged sexual assault of two minors at a Badlapur school.
“Even four-year-old girls are not being spared. This situation is extremely shocking,” said Justice Mohite-Dere. “Everyday, we come across at least four cases of serious crimes against women which aren’t probed properly… This is pathetic,” the Court said.
The court also reprimanded the local police for their failure to register a case against the school authorities, despite the girls’ complaints. This delay mirrors the troubling incident earlier this month at Kolkata’s RG Kar Hospital, where a police case in the rape and murder of a doctor was similarly delayed.
“Unless people protest your department won’t investigate? Is the State of Maharashtra trying to give us a signal that unless people protest it won’t take crimes against women seriously? Everyday we are hearing of some or the other rape or a POCSO case,” Justice Gadkari said.
The court inquired, “Did the girls report the complaints to the school authorities?” to which it was confirmed that they had. The court then reminded Advocate General Birendra Saraf, representing the state government, that the POCSO Act mandates that even school authorities can be implicated for failing to report such crimes. “So, did you register any case?” the court asked.
Mr. Saraf responded, “The SIT has been formed and will address the issue,” but the court remained unimpressed. “A case against the school should have been filed by now. The moment the FIR was lodged, you should have initiated proceedings against the school authorities,” the court replied.
“We can’t lose sight of what happened… we want to know if the state government has done counselling for the victims…,” the court also inquired whether the minor girls had been provided with counseling to address their physical and emotional trauma.
The High Court requested a detailed timeline of the inquiry, including when the Special Investigation Team (SIT) was established and the reasons for the local police’s failure to transfer all relevant documents.
Additionally, the court questioned why the second girl was not included in the FIR, despite being mentioned in the statement provided by the first girl’s parents.
The bench is scheduled to review the plea again on Tuesday, August 27. Attorney General Saraf assured that all necessary measures will be implemented to ensure children’s safety, and the SIT will thoroughly and swiftly pursue the case.