Agencies / New Delhi
The Supreme Court today ordered transfer of the Muzaffarpur shelter home sexual assault case from a court in Bihar to a New Delhi court, saying “enough is enough” and children cannot be treated like this.
The apex court came down heavily on the Bihar government for its management of 16 shelter homes in the state, other than that at Muzaffarpur, and warned that unsatisfactory response of its queries will force it to summon the chief secretary.
It has ordered conclusion of the trial in the sexual assault case within six months.
Several girls were allegedly raped and sexually abused at an NGO-run shelter home in Muzaffarpur and the issue had come to light following a report by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS).
A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi took a grim view of the of the progress made in the trial of the Muzaffarpur sexual assault case and said it will now be transferred to a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court at Saket district court complex here.
The bench, which also comprised justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna, directed the Bihar government to render all assistance in the smooth transfer of the case and its records within two weeks from today.
Earlier the apex court had directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to take over the probe into allegations of physical and sexual abuse of inmates at 16 shelter homes in Bihar, besides transferring of the Muzaffarpur sexual assault case.