The Supreme Court on Tuesday disposed of a petition seeking a probe into alleged instances of sexual abuse in schools run by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), while granting liberty to the petitioners to approach the relevant child rights bodies with their grievances.
A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and R Mahadevan directed that the petitioners may file a fresh representation or reminder before the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) as well as the State Commissions for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
“We dispose of this petition by reserving liberty to the petitioners herein to make a fresh representation/reminder to NCPCR, UP SCPCR and West Bengal SCPCR to bring to the notice of these respondents the allegations that are ventilated in this petition,” the bench stated.
The court added that if such representations are made to the state commissions in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, they must be considered within a reasonable time.
The petition, filed by Rajneesh Kapur and others, had sought a court-monitored investigation into alleged cases of sexual abuse in schools managed by ISKCON. The plea claimed that internal records indicated serious instances of child sexual abuse and alleged that complaints lodged with the authorities had not been acted upon.
With the liberty granted, the petitioners are now expected to take their grievances to the child rights commissions for further action. The Supreme Court did not issue any direction for a judicial probe or investigation at this stage.
