BENGALURU: Rejecting the petitions filed by a physical education teacher of a school in Chikkamagaluru district questioning the registration of multiple First Information Reports (FIRs) against him for alleged sexual assault on children, the Karnataka High Court observed that it cannot be said that multiple FIRs are registered for a solitary incident on a solitary date. The victims and the date of incidents are different though the allegations are common.
Justice M Nagaprasanna made this observation while dismissing the petitions filed by KT Prabhunaika, challenging 13 FIRs registered against him under the provisions of IPC and Pocso Act, for inappropriately touching children. He did not challenge the first FIR registered by the BEO.
The court said that the crime committed by the accused against each individual student is complained of by their parents and the incidents span over one to three months from September 2021 to January 2022. Hence every fact is necessary for investigation. Therefore, registration of crimes in multiple FIRs against the petitioner, in the peculiar facts of these cases, cannot be found fault with, the court added.
"Though all the complaints look the same and would complain of an incident of a particular day, every complaint varies in the period. The victims in all these cases are not common but are different. With no certain time and period and the complainants being different, the contention of the petitioner's counsel is unacceptable," the court observed.
The counsel of the petitioner also contended that the people who are inimical towards the petitioner in the school have brought up to register complaints out of spite or ill-will by luring the parents.
The court said that no parent would come forward and register a complaint against the petitioner without any rhyme and reason and allege that their child has been sexually abused.
Receiving reports on the incidents, the BEO registered a complaint. Thereafter the parents having learnt about sexual assault against their children registered crimes on different dates against the petitioner for the same offence.