HC asks govt to submit Arya probe details

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the Delhi government to place before it material on the basis of which it appointed an enquiry commission to probe into allegations of sexual abuse at Arya Orphanage in Daryaganj.

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the Delhi government to place before it material on the basis of which it appointed an enquiry commission to probe into allegations of sexual abuse at Arya Orphanage in Daryaganj.

HT Image

"Where is the material? We are looking for that. As of now, there is no material on record which the authority had taken into consideration while ordering the investigation," a bench of Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice Pratibha Rani said.

The bench was hearing a bunch of petitions filed by NGOs, including Arya Anathalaya, challenging the government's decision to enquire into the allegation, saying that merely on the basis of media report or gossips, it cannot order to constitute a commission to look into the allegations.

The NGOs contended there were no incidents as alleged. "Only on the basis of the allegations or media reports and without any substance, the government was not right in holding the enquiry," they said.

The Delhi government had on February 25 appointed an enquiry commission to probe the alleged sexual abuse of children and death of an inmate at a privately run orphanage in Daryaganj area of the city.

It is to be noted that on February 22, a bench headed by acting Chief Justice AK Sikri had asked all authorities to ensure that "stray complaints" of abuse of children in the orphanage and subsequent action does not create a fear psychosis in the minds of nearly a thousand inmates there.

But that bench had, however, refused to restrain the Delhi government from setting up any new committee to enquire into the alleged sexual abuse.