New Delhi:

The apex court said it was a fit case in which the teacher ought to have faced trial by ensuring the identities of the victims were not revealed. The apex court said it's very disturbing that most of the victims targeted are from minority communities.

 The Supreme Court on Wednesday restored the prosecution of a Kerala teacher under the POCSO Act, saying that it was disappointed with how the high court had acted in an insensitive manner, quashing the FIR, ignoring the fact that the accused was a teacher and the victims were his students.

A bench comprising justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh directed the school administration to refrain from reinstating the suspended teacher accused of sexually harassing 52 girl students’ till the conclusion of the trial in the case.

“We are disappointed with the manner in which the high court has acted in an insensitive manner, ignoring the fact that respondent 1 was a teacher and the victims were his students”, said the apex court, while setting the July 13, 2022 verdict of the high court quashing the FIR against the accused.

The apex court said this case is a glaring example of victimisation of the victims of prima facie offenses under POCSO and maybe some provisions of the IPC.

The apex court said, in the impugned judgment, the high court, after holding a mini-trial, including taking notes of contents of the statements alleged to have been made by the victims at a preliminary stage, jumped to the conclusion that it is not possible to infer that the said act has been done by the petitioner with any sexual intent.

The apex court said the preliminary statements recorded before the police by the survivors prima facie revealed offences under the POCSO Act.

"We fail to understand as to how the high court inferred that Section 7 of POCSO Act will not be attracted unless there is an act involving physical contact with sexual intent. The issue has been apparently pre-judged by the high court without permitting the victims to enter the witness box and depose," it said.

The apex court was surprised that the teacher moved the high court to quash the FIR after purportedly reaching a compromise with one of the survivors.

The apex court, directing the trial court to proceed with the trial, said statements of the survivors should be recorded first with the victims being treated as protected witnesses. The apex court ordered the police to ensure the accused was not allowed to contact or attempt to influence the victims or witnesses.

The prosecution alleged the teacher misbehaved with the female students, touched them inappropriately while teaching them how to use a desktop mouse and asked them "obnoxious questions about sanitary napkins". The survivors moved to the apex court after being aggrieved by the high court decision.

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