Mumbai. Hearing a petition in the Badlapur sexual assault case, the Bombay High Court on Tuesday said that boys need to be educated and sensitized about gender equality from an early age and their mindset also needs to be changed.
Hearing a suo motu petition, a division bench of Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice Prithviraj Chavan said that male dominance and machismo (belief of superiority over women) still prevail in the society, therefore boys should be taught about right and wrong behavior from an early age. The court suggested forming a committee to study the issue and recommend rules and guidelines to be followed in schools to avoid such incidents.
Two four-year-old girls were allegedly sexually assaulted in a school in Badlapur. The incident triggered protests, with the state government assuring strict action against the culprit. The court reiterated its displeasure over the manner in which the initial investigation was conducted by the Badlapur police and said the police should have shown some sensitivity.
The bench said, “One of the victim girls and her family were asked to come to the police station to record their statement. Badlapur police did not even attempt to record their statement at their home. There has been a serious lapse in the investigation by Badlapur police.” Maharashtra Advocate General (AG) Birendra Saraf admitted the lapse and said that three police officers of Badlapur police station have been suspended. The court said that the state education department can take steps to ensure that children are taught about gender equality and gender sensitivity from the pre-primary level in school.
The bench said, “Male dominance and male chauvinistic mindset still prevail. Unless we teach equality to our children at home, nothing will happen. Till then laws like Nirbhaya and other laws will not work.” The court said, “We always talk about girls. Why don’t we tell boys what is right and what is wrong? We need to change the mindset of boys at a young age itself. Teach them to respect women.” The court suggested forming a committee of a retired judge, a retired policeman, a retired principal, a woman IPS officer and a member of the child welfare committee.
This committee can study the issue and recommend rules and guidelines to be followed in schools to avoid such incidents in future. The bench said that it will hear the matter further on September 3, by then the government will inform it about the committee.
The court asked, “Every educational institution should periodically check the background of its employees. All these things are necessary to be done by every school. Has this school done this?” The Attorney General’s reply was negative. He said that the parents of the accused are working in the same school, so he was also employed. The court also wanted to know whether the CCTV footage from the school premises has been recovered and preserved. Saraf said that the ‘hard disk’ has been recovered and it is being examined. The bench also suggested that a woman prosecutor be appointed to assist the special public prosecutor appointed in the case.