The Delhi High Court has recently taken suo motu cognisance of a reported sexual assault on a three-year-old child, allegedly perpetrated by a school cleaner in South Delhi.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Saurabh Banerjee has directed both the Education Department and the Delhi Police to submit a comprehensive action taken report within a span of two weeks. Furthermore, the Bench has underscored the imperative to ensure the concealment of the minor victim’s name and identity.
“Mr. Santosh Tripathi, while filing the status report, will mask the name of the girl child as well as the names of the parents of the girl child, and shall undertake all necessary measures to protect the identity and right to privacy of the girl child. He shall take care that the media acts in compliance with the statutory provisions as contained in Section 23 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act), 2012,” the order stated.
As per the report, the accused, Arjun Kumar, has been apprehended by the Delhi Police. He has been charged under Section 376 (punishment for rape) and Section 377 (unnatural offences) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), along with Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
The matter is scheduled for further hearing on September 1, 2023.
