How Did School Allow It? Madras HC On Plea Seeking CBI Probe Into Sexual Assault Of School Girls At 'Fake' NCC Camp

The bench of Acting Chief Justice D Krishnakumar and Justice PB Balaji was hearing a petition filed by Advocate AP Suryaprakasam seeking a CBI probe into the sexual assault of school girls at a fake NCC camp in Krishnagiri. The court also noted that no teacher from the school had participated in the camp and all the people involved were brought in by the main accused Sivaraman.

“How did the school allow Sivaraman to conduct the fake NCC camp? 12 girls had suffered at the hands of this person. In the Kallakurichi case, the Education Department had taken immediate action against the school. Why has no action been taken yet? No teachers from the same school were present at the time of the camp. All persons present there were from outside,” the court said.

The court thus directed the Krishnagiri District Legal Service Authority to inspect the school and interact with the parents of the school and submit a detailed report by the next hearing on September 4.

The petitioner AP Suryaprakasam argued that there were mysterious circumstances around the death of the prime accused Sivaraman who died after consuming rat poison while under police custody. Suryaprakasam also lamented that the detailed report submitted by the police had indirectly disclosed the identity of the victim girls. Arguing that the state had not shown any sensitivity to the victim girls, Suryaprakasam submitted that the state's report had details about the identity of the father, mother, and even grandmother of the victims, where they were working, etc.

Advocate General PS Raman informed the court that the principal of the school, the school's owner, and the two teachers who had abetted the incident by keeping it under wraps had been arrested. He also informed the court that the state had issued directions on steps to be taken in the future while conducting camps, especially those involving female students.

The court expressed its concern about the safety of the school students. The court remarked that like the Kallakurichi incident, the state could consider shifting the student to other nearby schools. To this, the AG, however, informed that the State did not want to take any actions as a knee-jerk reaction. The AG submitted that while the state had no problem shifting the students, the jobs of almost 500 teachers and the lives of more than 800 students in the school should not be affected due to the acts of a few.

The AG also informed the court that the multi-disciplinary team appointed by the State had already visited the school and met with the parents of the students, including the parents of the victim girls. The AG informed that the multi-disciplinary team had conducted the meeting along with psychologists and provided counseling to the students.

The AG further submitted that the State was making efforts to provide compensation to the victims. He informed the court that applications were already filed in the Fast Track Mahila court to disburse the amounts. The court then directed the Mahila court to dispose of the applications as soon as possible.

Case Title: AP Suryaprakasam v State of Tamil Nadu

Case NO: WP 25034 of 2024