Sexual abuse of underage girls in a fake NCC camp

The bank of Acting Chief Justice D Krishnakumar and Judge PB Balaji said the report submitted by the District Legal Service Authority of Krishnagiri district was “shocking”. The court wondered how the school could even allow the accused Sivaraman to attend the school. The court also wondered who was behind the whole incident and why Sivaraman would have approached the school.

The court was hearing a petition filed by advocate AP Suryaprakasam seeking a CBI probe into the case. The court had earlier directed the DLSA to visit the school, talk to the students and submit a report. The court on Wednesday appreciated the efforts of the DLSA, but added that the report contained shocking revelations.

The court noted that, according to the report, the students had informed the DLSA that the accused Sivaraman had lured the children to the camp with the promise of extra marks and had even threatened to chop off their little fingers if they told anyone else about the sexual assault. The court also noted that Sivaraman had even shown the students an air pistol and a rifle.

The court expressed dissatisfaction when it came to know that the state police had not yet arrested Bhuvan, who had introduced Sivaraman to the school authorities. Though the investigating officer informed the court that the police were investigating the case and would take appropriate action, the court was not satisfied with the direction in which the investigation was being conducted.

Advocate General PS Raman also assured the court that the investigation was progressing expeditiously and that several arrests had already been made. He informed the court that three FIRs had been registered so far and 18 persons had been arrested.

The court also examined the report of the District Education Office. In the previous hearing, the court had sought a report from the District Education Office regarding the action taken against the school where the fake NCC camp was conducted. The court was surprised as to why no action was taken against the school in the present case, whereas the authorities had acted quickly in the Kallakurichi incident in which a schoolgirl had allegedly committed suicide.

The DEO in his report stated that after the incident came to light, a notice of hearing was served on the school and five charges were filed against the school. He added that though the school had submitted its report, it was totally contradictory and unacceptable. He stated that the school management was involved in the illegal activities due to mismanagement and failed to prevent the illegal activities which had affected the lives of several girls. The DEO informed the court that he had recommended the principal of private schools to appoint a special officer to manage the school, invoking Section 31 of the Tamil Nadu Private Schools (Regulation) Act 2018.

The Deputy Advocate General informed the court that the process of appointing the Special Representative was almost completed and a government order to that effect was expected soon. He added that interim compensation had also been awarded to the victims.

After hearing all the submissions, the court asked the investigating officer to respond to the DLSA report and file her reply by September 19.

Case Title: AP Suryaprakasam v. State of Tamil Nadu and Others

Case number: WP 25034 of 2024