New Delhi : The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought a status report about the well-being of girls restored to their families after being rescued from a shelter home at Bihar's Muzaffarpur where allegations of sexual assault had surfaced in 2018.
The apex court also noted that 12 rescued girls, who are mentally challenged and physically disabled to some extent, are kept at different shelter homes in Bihar. A bench comprising Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit and Justice Bela M Trivedi also asked the authority to submit the status of disbursal of compensation which was earlier extended to these girls.
It noted that another issue is the whereabouts or well-being of the rescued girls, who have been restored to their families. "We accordingly direct the respective state child protection society to send appropriate status reports detailing the steps taken by the society and the present status of the girls in question," the bench said.
The top court has posted the matter for further hearing after eight weeks. Several girls were sexually assaulted at an NGO-run shelter home in Muzaffarpur. The issue had come to light in May 2018 after the Tata Institute of Social Sciences submitted a report to the Bihar government highlighting the alleged sexual abuse of girls in the shelter home.
The apex court had earlier transferred the case from Bihar to a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court in the Saket District Court complex in Delhi. The trial court convicted and awarded varying jail terms to 19 people in the case for various offences punishable under the POCSO Act and the Indian Penal Code. PTI
