NEW DELHI: A court pulled up the CBI for the delay in notifying special public prosecutor in the Muzaffarpur shelter home sexual assault case and directed the agency to appoint a lawyer within two days.
Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Kulshreshtha was shocked on hearing Senior Public Prosecutor RN Singh inform him that he had not been notified as the SPP in the case and the process may take a couple of more days.
“I want the notification day after tomorrow. If you cannot, just inform the Supreme Court. I am sending a copy of this order to the CBI director as well. If this is not done, some senior officer of the level of joint director will have to appear,” the judge said.
The apex court had on February 7 ordered that the case is transferred from Bihar to a POCSO court at Saket district court complex.
On Monday, the court also warned the CBI that any laxity to comply with the court’s order will amount to contempt.
“Issue notice to director CBI to notify the SPP within two days. The Supreme Court has also directed that all steps that are required to comply with the time frame regulated in the order should be taken. Accordingly, any laxity on the part of CBI will amount to contempt of the Supreme Court and action shall be taken against CBI accordingly.
“Do not expect the court to wait for one week for the notification to come. You are as much bound by the Supreme Court order as I am. Do not take me to that stage that I should write to the Supreme Court that the CBI is in contempt of the order initiated by the court,” the judge said.
Report exposed horror
The atrocities at the shelter came to light following a report by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS)