Badlapur assault case: HC suggests names for committee to suggest SOPs

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday suggested three names for the formation of a committee to suggest Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the police, hospitals and schools while investigating cases related to sexual assaults on minors.

During the hearing of the Badlapur minors' sexual assault case, the bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan suggested the names of retired IPS officer Meera Borwankar, former Bombay High Court Judge Sadhana Jadhav, and Shalini Phasalkar Joshi to form a committee to suggest the SOPs while expressing serious concern over the flaws in the implementation of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in this case.

In the end, the court adjourned the hearing of the Badlapur case till October 1.

During the hearing, Justice Chavan questioned the way the case diary was written for the investigation done on the matter and said, "Why the stereotyped way of writing a case diary? This is not the purpose of the case diary. You cannot write in this stereotyped way for the last 35 years."

The court stated that the case diary should mention the steps taken in the investigation and should contain details of the steps taken to catch the absconding accused.

"The accused does not have the right to see the case diary; the same writing style has been used for decades," the court added.

The court further stated that they were not satisfied with the way the investigation was done to arrest the absconding accused.

"There should also be a proper way to investigate and write the case diary; we hoped that you would tell us what concrete steps have been taken to investigate the matter... People are watching what you are doing. So, do not file the chargesheet in a hurry," the court added.

On the matter of vacancies in the forensic department and the delay in getting reports, Advocate General Birendra Saraf said that there were a large number of vacancies and people had also been hired on contract.

"The forensic department has a backlog; efforts are being made to clear the backlog," he added.

Speaking on the matter of the Test Identification Parade (TIP) of the accused, Saraf said that another FIR had been filed in this case.

On this matter, the victim's lawyer said the TIP causes trauma to the victims and their families. The court further said, "Educate your son and save your daughter."

Earlier on August 31, a Thane Court had accepted the request of the Special Investigating Team for a test identification parade of the accused in the Badlapur minors' sexual assault case.

The identification parade was conducted in the presence of the Executive Magistrate, where the victims identified the accused.

The case pertains to the alleged incident of sexual assault on two four-year-olds inside their school in Badlapur, Maharashtra.

After the identification of the accused, SIT prepared a psychological profile of the accused, which would help in further investigation of the case.