The Delhi High Court (HC) has taken suo-motu cognisance of the incident where a three-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted by a school cleaner, reports PTI. The court, led by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, was informed about the incident through a news report and has directed the initiation of a public interest litigation (PIL) based on this information.
According to PTI, in response to the PIL, the court, including Justice Saurabh Banerjee, has instructed concerned authorities to submit a status report. The court emphasised the need to safeguard the identity of the young girl involved and ordered that all necessary steps be taken to maintain her privacy.
The court's order, dated August 8, reads, "Let a Suo motu (on its own) PIL be registered based on the newspaper report. Let a status report be filed positively within two weeks from today in respect of action taken in the matter by the Delhi Police as well as by the Education Department, GNCTD.”
"Mr (Santosh Kumar) Tripathi (Delhi government counsel), 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," the court said.
The court asked the Delhi government counsel to ensure that there is compliance with the law protecting the identity of minor victims of sexual offences.
The incident took place at a school in the Panchsheel Enclave area of south Delhi, where the girl was allegedly sexually assaulted, said the Delhi Police on August 3.
The Hauz Khas police station received a PCR call about the abuse at a school near the Chirag Delhi flyover on August 1, at 11.46 am and an investigation was initiated promptly.
The victim reported that a cleaner named Arjun Kumar (33), a resident of Old Gautam Budh Nagar in UP, had sexually abused her. The accused was arrested and charged under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. He has been placed in judicial custody.
The court will address the matter again on September 1.
