NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday cancelled the bail granted to a female teacher accused of concealing from the authorities the alleged rape of a three-year-old girl by a staff member at a private school in Janakpuri.
Justice Saurabh Banerjee, while allowing Delhi Police’s appeal against a trial court order dated May 20 granting her bail under the POCSO Act, directed the teacher to surrender before the concerned POCSO court judge within three days, by 12 noon. The court said cases involving sexual offences against kids warrant “utmost caution”.
The judge held that the trial court had “wrongly” granted bail merely because the survivor didn’t name the teacher in her initial complaint. “Any three-year-old cannot be expected to reveal every detail at the time of making the initial complaint... Trial court erred in completely ignoring the crucial fact that the survivor has not only identified the teacher in the presence of her mother but also the spot where the incident took place...,” the judge said.
On June 29, the HC had set aside the bail granted to the school’s caretaker, the main accused. The incident came to light on May 1 after the girl’s mother lodged a police complaint, alleging that her daughter had been sexually assaulted by the caretaker during school hours.