The BATTLE continues …
This was not a just another case for us, in which we tried to restore justice to the girl child of eight years who was sexually abused by the man. The plight of the girl started in year 2007 when an adult male who was her neighbour raped her at night when she was sleeping alone in her cottage. Father, a daily wage earner used to work in the factory and mother went to her hometown in Bihar to meet her relatives. The girl was in the custody of the relatives.
The matter came in the knowledge of Child Welfare Committee, Nirmal Chayya Complex. Dr, Bharti Sharma, then Chairperson, Child Welfare Committee called HAQ: Centre for Child Rights to assist the poor family in the court. We decided to work on this case at the priority basis and also thought to ensure to conduct the trial in the child friendly manner. But our journey took the different route and we start getting difficulties (read challenges) from the beginning. After incident the child was in the hospital for twenty-two days. According to one of the eyewitness, when she took the child in her arms, after the incident her sari turned red with the blood.
After the recovery from the hospital another battle of getting justice started for the child. The law of the country need everything including the statement of the child and as early as possible. So she has to depose in front of the metropolitan magistrate (popularly called as 164 Cr. P. C. statement) that the accused has committed an offence. But we had no idea that there are going to be lots of speed breakers in the path. The first one came at the very initial level. Fortunately or unfortunately the magistrate was a female officer. We had an impression that she will handle the case sensitively and judicially. But our dream falls flat when she starts giving dates. She had different reason to do that, once she shared that I have to go for Test Identification Parade or I have some work or at one time she dismissed the application in default. After waiting for eight dates for eight days we realised that she is not at all serious in taking the statement of the child. In the meantime, small girl also start getting irritated and angry. She starts saying that I will not come and depose in front of her. We somehow managed to convince her about the importance of date.
The father of the girl was very nice man and taking care of the child. The mother of the child was little weird or emotional. The trauma was big and she was angry at the system. She starts showing her anger to the child. She starts saying that she is not interested in keeping the girl and if we can keep the child in some children’s home. We totally rejected her idea. We make her understand all the consequences with it. But when she again raised this issue with us, we sternly warned her not to talk like this again. The most ironical part was, as the mother was telling this to us she was also pushing away her daughter but the child was again and again clinging to her.
Another breaker was waitng for us. The magistrate was not in the mood to record her statement. She ordered to send the child at NARI NIKETAN (let me tell you it is for home for women and not for children… nari ka niketan) fortunately; before MM passed the order the girl had left to home. Well, as the MM starts giving dates and seems not interested in traumatising child we decided to move to the High Court of Delhi. We sent an email to high-powered high committee on juvenile justice to look into this matter. The high court committee forwarded the mail to the judge who was handling criminal matter in the court. He asked to the state counsel to ensure the recording of the statement today itself. The order of the copy should be given to magistrate and she should record the statement of the child and MM should explain in the court that why she has not taken the statement of the child on that day only. After this the whole system shakes-up. The Station House Officer with the Inspector investigation came to the court and was looking worried as if order has passed against them.
Well, in the end the statement was recorded and later on high court gave very good guidelines how to deal the cases of child sexual abuse by the different agencies like police, session judge and doctors including metropolitan magistrate.
Then another stage of the case came popularly called as cross-examination of the child and other witnesses in the case. We tried to help the child and the family in recording of their statements and cross-examination.
It is sometime very difficult to understand that why they take so many statements, first at the police station level when an investigation officer takes the statement sometime s/he asked very pointedly about each and every aspect. Then Metropolitan Magistrate who has to record the statement as a part of recording under 164 Cr. P. C. After filing of charge sheet i.e. approximately ninety days then, the Session Judge in the name of examination-in-chief. Then defence counsel about the incident as a part of the cross-examination. And in between that if any NGOs worker comes then there is another repeating of statement. Don’t we ask the child do remember the trauma if she wants justice and runs revision classes.
The examination in chief and cross-examination of the case is always a very important stage in the criminal case and we tried to make it as friendly as possible for the child. There should not be direct questioning, there should be always a very procedure of asking the question, the whole atmosphere should be child friendly, and there should be in-camera trial. We tried to ensure that and always ensured that the child or her family should get any kind of trauma in this process. Seconds turned into minute and minutes into hour, hours into day and days into month and months into years and after approximately three years the judgment came. Ten Years of Imprisonment with fine. Means the accused has to be there in the jail for another SEVEN YEARS (he had already spent three years in jail).
As we feel that justice is restored but the parents of the child are still unsatisfied and they were expecting life imprisonment for the accused. We do not know whether getting justice is the matter of satisfaction of the victim’s family even after getting the punishment for ten years. As we have to get the order of the copy and have to assess for appeal further.
But we know, as there are lots of other cases of small girls victimised and sexually abused who are still looking for ‘justice’ and for us the battle continues......
This was not a just another case for us, in which we tried to restore justice to the girl child of eight years who was sexually abused by the man. The plight of the girl started in year 2007 when an adult male who was her neighbour raped her at night when she was sleeping alone in her cottage. Father, a daily wage earner used to work in the factory and mother went to her hometown in Bihar to meet her relatives. The girl was in the custody of the relatives.
The matter came in the knowledge of Child Welfare Committee, Nirmal Chayya Complex. Dr, Bharti Sharma, then Chairperson, Child Welfare Committee called HAQ: Centre for Child Rights to assist the poor family in the court. We decided to work on this case at the priority basis and also thought to ensure to conduct the trial in the child friendly manner. But our journey took the different route and we start getting difficulties (read challenges) from the beginning. After incident the child was in the hospital for twenty-two days. According to one of the eyewitness, when she took the child in her arms, after the incident her sari turned red with the blood.
After the recovery from the hospital another battle of getting justice started for the child. The law of the country need everything including the statement of the child and as early as possible. So she has to depose in front of the metropolitan magistrate (popularly called as 164 Cr. P. C. statement) that the accused has committed an offence. But we had no idea that there are going to be lots of speed breakers in the path. The first one came at the very initial level. Fortunately or unfortunately the magistrate was a female officer. We had an impression that she will handle the case sensitively and judicially. But our dream falls flat when she starts giving dates. She had different reason to do that, once she shared that I have to go for Test Identification Parade or I have some work or at one time she dismissed the application in default. After waiting for eight dates for eight days we realised that she is not at all serious in taking the statement of the child. In the meantime, small girl also start getting irritated and angry. She starts saying that I will not come and depose in front of her. We somehow managed to convince her about the importance of date.
The father of the girl was very nice man and taking care of the child. The mother of the child was little weird or emotional. The trauma was big and she was angry at the system. She starts showing her anger to the child. She starts saying that she is not interested in keeping the girl and if we can keep the child in some children’s home. We totally rejected her idea. We make her understand all the consequences with it. But when she again raised this issue with us, we sternly warned her not to talk like this again. The most ironical part was, as the mother was telling this to us she was also pushing away her daughter but the child was again and again clinging to her.
Another breaker was waitng for us. The magistrate was not in the mood to record her statement. She ordered to send the child at NARI NIKETAN (let me tell you it is for home for women and not for children… nari ka niketan) fortunately; before MM passed the order the girl had left to home. Well, as the MM starts giving dates and seems not interested in traumatising child we decided to move to the High Court of Delhi. We sent an email to high-powered high committee on juvenile justice to look into this matter. The high court committee forwarded the mail to the judge who was handling criminal matter in the court. He asked to the state counsel to ensure the recording of the statement today itself. The order of the copy should be given to magistrate and she should record the statement of the child and MM should explain in the court that why she has not taken the statement of the child on that day only. After this the whole system shakes-up. The Station House Officer with the Inspector investigation came to the court and was looking worried as if order has passed against them.
Well, in the end the statement was recorded and later on high court gave very good guidelines how to deal the cases of child sexual abuse by the different agencies like police, session judge and doctors including metropolitan magistrate.
Then another stage of the case came popularly called as cross-examination of the child and other witnesses in the case. We tried to help the child and the family in recording of their statements and cross-examination.
It is sometime very difficult to understand that why they take so many statements, first at the police station level when an investigation officer takes the statement sometime s/he asked very pointedly about each and every aspect. Then Metropolitan Magistrate who has to record the statement as a part of recording under 164 Cr. P. C. After filing of charge sheet i.e. approximately ninety days then, the Session Judge in the name of examination-in-chief. Then defence counsel about the incident as a part of the cross-examination. And in between that if any NGOs worker comes then there is another repeating of statement. Don’t we ask the child do remember the trauma if she wants justice and runs revision classes.
The examination in chief and cross-examination of the case is always a very important stage in the criminal case and we tried to make it as friendly as possible for the child. There should not be direct questioning, there should be always a very procedure of asking the question, the whole atmosphere should be child friendly, and there should be in-camera trial. We tried to ensure that and always ensured that the child or her family should get any kind of trauma in this process. Seconds turned into minute and minutes into hour, hours into day and days into month and months into years and after approximately three years the judgment came. Ten Years of Imprisonment with fine. Means the accused has to be there in the jail for another SEVEN YEARS (he had already spent three years in jail).
As we feel that justice is restored but the parents of the child are still unsatisfied and they were expecting life imprisonment for the accused. We do not know whether getting justice is the matter of satisfaction of the victim’s family even after getting the punishment for ten years. As we have to get the order of the copy and have to assess for appeal further.
But we know, as there are lots of other cases of small girls victimised and sexually abused who are still looking for ‘justice’ and for us the battle continues......
Vipin Bhatt
HAQ: Centre for Child Rights
1 comment:
Yes the battle is on. First of all such incidence of child sexual abuse must not happen.
It would be useful to suggest the course of fair practice while seeking justice in such cases. Besides the legal battle, the life of survivor in terms of rehabilitation/ reintegration could be mentioned in brief. This story of courage of the survivor is important as sign of hope; else the reader might feel that the battle is not worth fighting. Communicating and being with victim of child sexual as co-traveler/ supporter adult in the battle for justice calls for courage and best of humanness. So each adult who does this fine job could be mention if possible.I guess no amount of empathy can undo the suffering of the survivor child, it only partially heals.Nevertheless it’s our responsibility as society to support child in healing.
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