BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court refused to quash criminal proceedings against Muniyappa (46), a drawing teacher of a Government Residential School in Kolar district, in connection with the crime registered against him for allegedly recording videos and clicking photographs of minor girl students in the school when they were changing their clothes.
“What is shocking is the petitioner has five mobile phones of different brands. All the mobile phones were seized and sent to FSL. Each mobile phone has close to 1,000 images and several hundreds of videos. The petitioner is a drawing teacher. Why he is in possession of five mobile phones, and what are the videos and pictures therein, are all a matter of investigation. The very fact that he is a drawing teacher and holds five mobile devices is inexplicable, which can be thrashed out only in an investigation or full-blown trial. Each of the mobile phones has a secure digital card (SD card), which again has a lot of material, according to the report,” said Justice M Nagaprasanna, rejecting the petition filed by Muniyappa.
This was after State Public Prosecutor BN Jagadeesha submitted that the petitioner has indulged in acts which would clearly become an offence under Section 12 of the POCSO Act. He had shot videos and taken photographs of girls while they were changing clothes. The articles seized from the petitioner were sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), he said, while placing investigation papers before the court.
The judge noted that if the complaint, the statements of the petitioner recorded during investigation and FSL report are noticed, what emerges is the offence is more than horrendous. “More than horrendous, I say, for the reason that the petitioner is a teacher; being a teacher it is indecorous on the part of the petitioner to have allegedly shot the videos and taken pictures of girl children when they were changing their dress, the alleged offence is unpardonable, albeit prima facie. If this cannot become a crime, it is un-understandable what else can be,” the judge said.
The judge also said that it is for the petitioner to come out clean in a full-blown trial, as any entertainment of the petition at the stage of registration of crime, would be putting a premium on the illegal activities of the teacher.