A West Delhi private school teacher accused of covering up the sexual assault of a three-year-old student must return to custody, following a Delhi High Court decision on Wednesday to revoke her bail.
Justice Saurabh Banerjee accepted a petition from the Delhi Police that challenged a trial court’s May 20 order granting bail to the educator. The High Court has ordered the teacher to surrender to authorities within three days.
This ruling follows a related decision on June 29, in which the High Court cancelled the bail of the primary accused—the school’s caretaker—and ordered him to surrender by July 1.
Details Of The Alleged Assault
The case began on May 1 when the victim’s mother lodged a formal complaint at the Janakpuri police station. According to the complaint, the incident took place on April 30, which marked the girl’s second day of classes since being admitted to the private institution.
Upon returning home that afternoon, the toddler complained of physical pain. When questioned, she told her mother that she had been escorted to an isolated part of the school grounds during school hours, where the caretaker allegedly assaulted her.
Following the complaint, the child identified the caretaker, leading to his arrest on May 1. Although he was placed in judicial custody, a court in Dwarka granted him bail on May 7 despite strong objections from the prosecution.
Charges And Investigation Timeline
The Delhi Police registered the case under Section 64(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which covers the punishment for rape, alongside Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, which pertains to aggravated penetrative sexual assault.
The female teacher was subsequently arrested on May 14 on charges of intentionally withholding information about the assault from school authorities and police. A trial court initially remanded her to one day of police custody before granting her bail on May 20, a decision that has now been reversed by the High Court.
