School principal to be party to child abuse case

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana high court has directed a lower court here to proceed against a local school principal who failed to act when a bus conductor’s molesting a child in 2015 was reported to her.

The high court has held that even the school administrator’s failing to address the issue immediately amounts to abetting a crime listed under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act.Justice Fateh Deep Singh’s verdict, which upholds the Chandigarh district court’s decision of asking the
school administrator to come and face charges under the Pocso Act, is meant to deter all those school managements that sit on child-abuse complaints.
Even though the district court had not summoned the principal, the high court ordered the local court to summon her as well. The verdict says that the summoning orders of August 5, 2017 (issued by an additional sessions judge who is also judge of the special court) appear to have missed this material point. For the sake of justice, the high court deems it “essential to exercise the powers under Section 482 of the CrPC (Code of Criminal Procedure) and direct the court where the matter is pending to ensure that even the principal, who had the knowledge of this incident…, is not let off.”
Dismissing the petition of the school administrator against his summoning to face prosecution, justice Singh observed that since the matter was brought to the notice of the school authorities, the administrator’s duty was to ensure due redress, in matters concerning child abuse especially. The court observed: “He (the school administrator) cannot hide behind the facade of lack of knowledge or information.”
So that matters like these are not brushed under the carpet and the purpose of the Pocso Act is met by all means, the high court has said that the district magistrate and the UT director of school education must fulfil their obligations under UN convention and Section 43 (public awareness of the law) of the Pocso Act.