Pune court discharges Bishop Thomas Dabre in 2018 minor sexual abuse case

The FIR filed said that Father Vincent Pereira allegedly abused a 15-year-old boy, while Bishop Dabre and Cardinal Gracias reportedly took no action despite complaints from the boy’s family: FIR

Pune: The additional sessions court of Pune has discharged 79-year-old Bishop Emeritus Thomas Dabre of the Pune Diocese, who is a co-accused in a 2018 case pertaining to the sexual abuse of a minor.

Bishop Dabre was accused of not acting against the main suspect despite complaints from the survivor’s family members. (Shankar Narayan/HT PHOTO)

A First Information Report (FIR) was registered at the Hadapsar police station in 2018 and later transferred to Kondhwa police station, stating that Father Vincent Pereira allegedly sexually abused a 15-year-old boy while two other prominent members of the church – Bishop Dabre and Cardinal Oswald Gracias, the Archbishop of Bombay – allegedly did not act against the main suspect despite complaints from the survivor’s family members.

Dabre moved a discharge application under Section 227 (discharge of an accused person in a sessions trial) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), contending that the allegations were “baseless and vague” and that he was “falsely implicated,” despite no evidence against him under Sections 21(1) and 21(2) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, which address the failure to report or record cases of sexual offences against children.

Opposing the plea, the assistant public prosecutor argued that there was prima facie evidence of Dabre’s “active participation in the crime,” and said that the case was strong enough for conviction.

The court, however, disagreed. “There is no prima facie evidence against the accused to frame charges under Sections 21(1) and 21(2) of the POCSO Act,” observed additional sessions judge Aniruddha Gandhi in the order.

The order, which was passed on August 8 and uploaded on the court’s website on Saturday, said that the FIR did not allege Dabre restrained the family from filing a complaint. “On the contrary, the survivor’s father admitted that Dabre had told him to approach the police. Despite knowledge of the incident in February 2018, the complaint was filed only on September 14, 2018, a delay of six months,” the order said.

The court further recorded that the survivor’s father had written to Dabre on February 16, 2018, seeking Pereira’s transfer. Dabre subsequently convened a meeting where head constable Vikas Tengire of the Wanawadi police station was present. The constable reportedly advised that only the victim or guardian could file a police complaint.

Additionally, a letter dated March 20, 2018, issued on Dabre’s instructions, showed that Father Roque Green had informed the Wanawadi police about Pereira’s alleged misconduct and the action taken against him. “This shows that the accused (Dabre) had reported the incident to the police,” the court observed.

“The ingredients of Section 21 of the POCSO Act are not fulfilled. On the contrary, there is material to show that the applicant accused complied with the provisions of the law. For the lapses on the part of the informant and the police, the accused cannot be held responsible,” the order added.