HC overturns bail in Janakpuri school rape case; asks caretaker to surrender
The Delhi High Court on Monday cancelled the bail granted to a 57-year-old private school caretaker accused of raping a three-year-old girl on the premises in west Delhi’s Janakpuri area, and asked him to surrender on July 1.A vacation bench of Justice Vinod Kumar passed the verdict on the pleas by the Delhi Police and the complainant against the trial court’s May 7 decision to release Lalit Kumar on bail in the case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
“I have agreed with the State and the petitioner (complainant). Both petitions are allowed. Accused Lalit Kumar is directed to surrender before the jurisdictional POCSO court on July 1 at 2 pm,” said Justice Kumar.Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the police, had earlier argued that it was not a case where the trial court should have given a reprieve to the main accused, i.e. the caretaker. He had submitted that it was a clear case of aggravated penetrative sexual assault under Section 6 of the POCSO Act, which was punishable with a minimum term of 20 years in jail, as the child had already identified the perpetrator and made specific allegations.
The counsel for the accused had denied all allegations of sexual assault against him, stating that the “foundational facts” of the present case cannot be sustained. The incident came to light on May 1 when the girl’s mother filed a complaint at Janakpuri police station, alleging that her daughter was sexually assaulted during school hours by the accused. According to the complaint, the child had gone to the school on April 30, the second day after
her admission.
After returning home, she complained of pain. When questioned by her mother, the girl said that she was taken to an isolated area in the school, where the man allegedly assaulted her.Based on the complaint by the child’s mother, police registered a case under section 64(1) (punishment for rape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and section 6 (Punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the POCSO Act.Police said the child identified the accused, following which the school caretaker was arrested on May 1. He was later produced before a court and sent to judicial custody.However, he was granted bail by a court in Dwarka on May 7 despite strong opposition from the prosecution.A teacher was also arrested for allegedly concealing the incident from the authorities and was remanded in one-day police custody by the trial court on May 14.
