Southern States - Andhra Pradesh   

Rape case: court reprimands officials

By Our Legal Correspondent

HYDERABAD NOV. 27. A Division Bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court on Wednesday reprimanded the Government authorities for their casual manner in which they dealt with the case of an 8-year-old girl inmate of an observation home in Hyderabad, who was sexually assaulted, and said that everyone was trying to shield one's own colleague.

The Bench, comprising B. Sudarshan Reddy and Gulam Mohammed, was dealing with the writ petition arising from a representation by one Lakshmaiah, convener, Juvenile Rights Forum, Hyderabad.

It was alleged that the girl of Rajampeta disappeared when she went to get some articles from nearby stores. Later, she was traced to a rescue home in Raichur, and then the Hyderabad observation home run by the State Government.

It came to light that she had to be sent for medical examination when she was found bleeding. The Metropolitan Sessions Judge, who enquired into the matter, reported back that help was not forthcoming and she was assaulted at the home. The court found that she was assaulted sexually at the observation home. The National Human Rights Commission awarded Rs. 50,000 and the Government had paid Rs. 1 lakh as compensation.

The Bench felt that the observation home had lost its credibility. Mr. Justice Sudarshan Reddy, who delivered the judgment, said that the officers were making efforts to shield one another.

The Bench directed that criminal and departmental proceedings initiated against the officers concerned and gave liberty to any citizen to seek further direction from the court to see that the judgment was implemented properly.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Southern States

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• Mystery shrouds death of 6 students
• Naidu calls for improved risk management in insurance sector
• Rape case: court reprimands officials
• CM asks more banks to take up e-seva services
• `Praja Chaitanya Jatha' a success, says CPI leader
• STD booth operator shot dead by naxals
• Tension over TV news report on godman
• Absenteeism among doctors plagues PHCs

Copyright © 2002, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu