The Bombay High Court on Tuesday advised the police investigating the sexual assault of two young girls at a school in Badlapur, Maharashtra, to build a “watertight” case and avoid filing a chargesheet hastily due to public pressure.
A division bench comprising Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan emphasized the importance of thorough investigation, noting that this case could set a precedent for similar cases in the future.
Justice Dere also stressed the need for educating boys on appropriate behavior, saying, “Education of boys is important. ‘Bete ko padhao beti ko bachao’ (educate the boy and save the girl),” modifying the well-known government slogan.
The court had previously taken suo motu (on its own) cognizance of the incident where two girls, around four years old, were sexually assaulted in a school washroom by a male attendant. The accused has already been arrested.
During the hearing, Advocate General Birendra Saraf, representing the government, informed the court that a chargesheet would be filed soon. However, the bench noted that the case had been transferred to a Special Investigation Team (SIT) due to inadequate investigation by the local police and public outrage over the incident.
“This is a larger issue,” the court stated. “This case will set a precedent for all such cases in the future. The public is watching, and what message we send is important.” The judges advised the SIT to ensure that every aspect of the investigation is in order before filing the chargesheet, urging them not to succumb to public pressure.
The court also criticized the SIT for maintaining the case diary in a “stereotypical” manner, noting that key details were missing. The judges emphasized that the purpose of a case diary is to document every step of the investigation thoroughly, and the current state of the diary suggested a lack of concrete efforts in the probe.
Advocate General Saraf also informed the court that the government had formed a committee to address the safety and security of girls in schools. The court responded by suggesting that the committee should also consider the safety of boys, stating, “Just because it is a boy, it is not that nothing untoward will happen.”
The High Court recommended including retired IPS officer Meeran Borwankar and a retired High Court judge, either Sadhana Jadhav or Shalini Phansalkar-Joshi, in the committee. The hearing was adjourned until October 1.
