Himachal Pradesh High Court refuses to quash POCSO case against teacher accused of sexually harassing 21 students

The Himachal High Court recently refused to quash the First Information Report (FIR) lodged against a school teacher for sexually harassing 21 minor students..Single-judge Justice Rakesh Kainthla observed that physical contact made by the accused teacher with the minor girls coupled with the words uttered by him amounted to "touch with sexual intent" which is an essential element for the commission of sexual assault under Section 7 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act).Merely because the first complaint made by one of the students did not disclose the ingredients of the offence would not be a ground to quash the FIR, the Court said."The physical contact made by the accused with the girls coupled with the words uttered by him can only lead to one inference that the touch was with sexual intent. Merely because the informant had not mentioned the ingredients of the commission of offence initially in the complaint made to the Principal cannot lead to an inference that no such facts had taken place," the order said..By way of background, the principal of a government school received a complaint about the sexual harassment of a girl by one of the teachers. The complaint was forwarded to the Sexual Harassment Committee. However, neither the girl nor her parents attended the Committee's proceedings.Given the nature of the allegations involving sexual harassment, authorities requested police intervention to take appropriate legal action. Following the investigation, the police found that 21 minor students had reported objectionable behavior by the accused-teacher.The police took statements from approximately 20 girls who reported that the accused used double-meaning words and touched them on their backs, cheeks, and other parts of the body causing discomfort.Based on these allegations, the accused was arrested and the police filed a charge sheet for outraging modesty under the Indian Penal Code and sexual assault under the POCSO Act. The accused then filed the present plea under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) for quashing of FIR..His counsel argued that the complaint did not mention sexual harassment at all and that the principal made an error in referring the complaint to the Sexual Harassment Committee. Further, the Committee conducted no investigation, prompting the principal to refer the matter to the police, it was contended.The State counsel argued that after the investigation, the police found that the accused had sexually assaulted the female students and, therefore the plea should be dismissed..The Court observed that the girls had made statements showing that the accused used to touch them inappropriately and the result of the investigation cannot be ignored at this stage.The powers under Section 482 CrPC should not be exercised by the High Court to conduct a mini trial by going into the evidence, the single-judge underscored."Court should not exercise its extraordinary jurisdiction when the learned Trial Court is seized of the matter. The allegations made by the girls in their statements under Section 161 CrPC duly establish a prima facie commission of the offence punishable under Section 7 of the POCSO Act and the FIR cannot be ordered to be quashed at this stage," the Court ordered rejecting the plea.Advocates PP Chauhan and Tara Devi appeared for petitioner.Additional Advocate General Jitender Sharma and Advocate Ajay Kumar Dhiman appeared for respondent..[Read Order]