The Muzaffarpur Shelter Home Case

Name of the case:- Nivedita Jha   v. State of Bihar and  Ors.

Court:-  Supreme Court of India

Case no. :-  Special Leave Petition (Civil) No.24978 Of 2018

Decided on:- January 20, 2020

Bench:-  Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Chief Justice of India Uday Umesh Lalit, Justice Krishna Murari

Introduction

The Muzaffarpur Shelter Home Case refers to a heinous incident of sexual abuse and exploitation of girls at a shelter home in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, India. The case came to light in 2018 when the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) submitted a report to the Bihar government, detailing the rampant sexual abuse of girls at the shelter home run by the NGO “Seva Sankalp Evam Vikas Samiti.”

The case underscored the urgent need for systemic reforms to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future and to hold perpetrators accountable for their heinous actions. It also highlighted the importance of a coordinated effort between civil society, law enforcement, and government agencies to address the complex issue of child abuse and exploitation.

Background

The background of the Muzaffarpur shelter home case can be summarized in the following points:

• The case occurred at a shelter home called Balika Grih in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, which was run by an NGO called Seva Sankalp Evam Vikas Samiti.
• The shelter home received funding from the Bihar government.
• The case came to light in April 2018 when a team of social workers and psychologists from Mumbai’s Tata Institute of Social Sciences, commissioned by the Bihar government, conducted a social audit of 110 shelter homes in the state, including Balika Grih.
• The audit uncovered the prevalence of various forms of abuse, including sexual exploitation, at the shelter home.

Actions taken

• The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took over the case in February 2019.
• The CBI ignored several leads provided in a supervision report by the Bihar police, which included the names of at least nine people, including senior members of the state administration, officers of the Indian Administrative Services, a then cabinet minister of Bihar, and a consultant with the UNICEF, who were reportedly aware of the sexual exploitation.
• The CBI filed a charge-sheet against 21 people, including the main accused Brajesh Thakur, on December 18, 2018.

Decision of the court

• On January 20, 2020, a Delhi court convicted 19 people in the case, including Brajesh Thakur, who was found guilty on multiple grounds of rape, gangrape, and aggravated sexual assault of at least 34 minor destitute girls living at the Balika Grih short-stay home.

Potential questions this judgement tend to answer

• What were the circumstances that led to the abuse of the girls at the shelter home?
• What support is being provided to the victims of the shelter home abuse?
• What measures have been taken to prevent similar incidents in the future
• WRITTEN BY: Pankhuri Rastogi 

  The Supreme Court of India

   

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