Badlapur sexual assault: Why haven’t school trustees been arrested yet, HC asks SIT

The Bombay High Court questioned why trustees in the Badlapur sexual assault case remain unarrested, denying their bail amid protests over the incidents

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Tuesday asked the state-appointed special investigation team (SIT) for the Badlapur sexual assault cases why the trustees of the school where the incidents allegedly took place last month were not yet arrested. Meanwhile, another bench of the high court rejected the pre-arrest bail pleas of the accused trustees, chairman Uday Kotwal and secretary Tushar Apte.

Akshay Shinde was accused of sexually assaulting two minor girls at a school in Badlapur town of Thane district.

A division bench comprising justice Revati Mohite Dere and justice Prithviraj Chavan was hearing a suo-motu (on its own) petition following widespread protests across the state over the alleged sexual assault on two four-year-old girls at a Badlapur school by a cleaning staff member in the girls’ toilet last month. The school authorities and Badlapur police have been criticised for their delay in taking action after the minors’ families informed them about the assaults.

While the main accused, Akshay Shinde, was arrested on August 17 and killed by the police in “retaliatory firing” on September 23, the two accused trustees of the school are still absconding. Opposition parties have been continuously demanding their arrest, claiming the Maharashtra government is protecting them because of their alleged links with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and its ideological parent, the Rashtriya Svayamsevak Sangh.

“The Mumbai police can go to any corner of the country to nab criminals. How do you say these persons are absconding? Are you waiting for the courts to accept their anticipatory bail pleas?” said the bench. In response, advocate general Dr Birendra Saraf said that the police are opposing the accused’s pre-arrest bail pleas tooth and nail. “Please give us that much credit,” he said, adding that charge sheets had already been filed in both sexual assault cases in the second week of September.

However, Ajinkya Gaikwad, the lawyer of the survivors’ families, claimed that they had not received certified copies of the charge sheets yet. The bench directed the police to give certified copies of the chargesheets to the victims’ families, saying, “This is their right. As per the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, the informant has to be kept in the loop throughout the investigation.”

Gaikwad added that the two minors had not yet rejoined school after the incident and were not being afforded facilities like counselling. The court and Dr Saraf then vouched that the survivors’ every need would be taken care of.

Meanwhile, a single judge bench on Tuesday denied anticipatory bail to Kotwal and Apte, who had approached the high court after the Kalyan sessions court rejected their pleas on September 10. Justice RN Laddha refused to give them pre-arrest bail, noting that there was prima facie evidence indicating they were aware of the alleged assaults prior to August 16, when the police contacted them, but failed to take necessary action to report the incidents to the police.

In his ruling, justice Laddha underscored the tender age of the victims and the severe implications of the alleged offences. He said that the trauma experienced by the minor girls could have lasting psychological effects, impacting their adolescent development and overall well-being.

The court stated that given the serious nature of the allegations, it was inappropriate to consider the bail application favourably, particularly in light of the accused’s prominent positions within the school where the incidents were reported to have occurred.

The court articulated the need for caution in handling cases involving educational institutions that fail to report sexual offences against minors.