No interim protection from arrest for the chairman and secretary of Badlapur School

The Bombay High Court on Monday refused to grant interim bail to the chairman and secretary of a school in Badlapur, Maharashtra. Two underage girls were sexually abusedThe school's chairman Uday Kotwal and secretary Tushar Apate are currently in hiding.

The bench of RN Laddha was hearing the anticipatory bail applications filed by Kotwal and Apate seeking protection from arrest.

“Do you seek provisional bail in connection with these offences?” the court asked, adjourned the hearing until October 1.

The petitions were filed last week and were put up for hearing on Monday. Attorney General Hiten Venegaonkar, appearing for the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case, opposed the interim bail applications. Advocate Kavisha Khanna, appearing on behalf of the minor girls, also opposed the applications.

Earlier, the Kalyan court had rejected the applications of both the accused for interim bail.

In court, Kotwal and Apate's lawyers argued that such an incident could not have occurred at the school.

“…the victims are young girls. If the alleged incident occurred on 12.08.2024 and 13.08.2024, it is unbelievable that they did not tell the helpers, teachers or their parents about it. There is a possibility that such an incident did not occur,” they argued.

Kotwal and Apate told the court that the CCTV footage from those days, which was allegedly deleted from the school, was not removed because they had any connection with the accused or to protect him, but because the principal's office had been relocated and the CCTV cameras had not yet been installed.

According to the prosecution, the two girls, aged three and four, were sexually abused by a school sweeper between August 12 and 13. The school management was informed about it on August 14. However, Kotwal and Apate did not inform the police despite knowing about the crime, which is an offence under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The prosecution had claimed that the defendant may have tried to put pressure on the victims, which is why his plea should be rejected.

A lawyer representing the minor girls argued that the defendants were accused of crimes that would require release on bail and that the applications for interim release were therefore inadmissible.

Special Judge VA Patravale observed that the Bombay High Court had repeatedly been informed by the prosecution about the steps being taken to arrest the fugitive accused Kotwal and Apate.