New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday said that the High-Powered Enquiry Committee examining allegations of police violence during student protests has been directed to take up on priority the complaints of sexual assau…

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday said that the High-Powered Enquiry Committee examining allegations of police violence during student protests has been directed to take up on priority the complaints of sexual assault faced by women protesters. A bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant stated that, as per the order passed last week, the Committee must submit an interim report on the sexual assault complaints at the earliest. The observations came when senior advocate Shobha Gupta requested the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognizance of cases of sexual assault during the Jantar Mantar student protests of July 20.  Broken promises: Rape on ‘pretext of marriage’ India’s most reported categoryGupta submitted that there were widely reported complaints of girls facing sexual assault by police personnel, adding that the matter had been heavily reported on social media.  “Girls are claiming that they were sexually assaulted… I am beseeching for a suo motu cognizance,” she said. Justice Joymalya Bagchi, who was on the bench, pointed out that an independent writ petition had already been filed on the same issue and that the High-Powered Enquiry Committee had been asked to examine it.  Gupta, however, urged that the sexual assault cases be investigated separately and that a District Judge be designated to receive complaints directly from the aggrieved women. The Chief Justice noted that the order dated August 18 specifically addressed the issue.  “The Committee has been requested to examine it on a priority basis and immediately submit an interim report,” he said. When Gupta raised concerns about how the women could approach the Committee, the Chief Justice replied that its Chairperson had been empowered to appoint nodal officers and that the procedure for lodging complaints would be notified once the appointments were made.  Making small child touch private parts is aggravated sexual assault: Delhi High CourtHe agreed with Gupta’s suggestion that the Committee publicise an email address for receiving complaints, stating that this would be notified. On August 20, the Supreme Court constituted a five-member panel headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice R Subhash Reddy to examine allegations of violence during student protests across the country.  The Committee has been tasked with looking into both the allegations and counter-allegations of violence by police personnel and protesters. The court specifically directed the panel to address on a priority basis “the alleged incidents of targeted violence, harassment, molestation and/or any secondary victimisation directed against female protestors” and to submit an interim report at the earliest on allegations of excessive police force and molestation.

Source: Deccan Herald