The Supreme Court on Thursday, 2 August, took cognisance of the Muzaffarpur shelter home sexual assault case, and issued a noticed to the Centre and Bihar government in the matter, The Times of India reported.
The court also barred the media from airing or using images and videos of the minor rape victims. The pictures, even in morphed form, should not be used, the court observed.
The shelter home in Bihar came under scrutiny earlier this year, after an audit report published by TISS revealed that minor girls living at the NGO were subjected to sexual assault. Medical reports confirmed that 34 girls were repeatedly raped.
On 29 July, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a case against officers and employees of Balika Grih Sahu, the NGO in Muzaffarpur, on the request of the Bihar government and a further notification from the government of India.
Bihar's Governor Satyapal Malik in a letter to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar also expressed his anguish and concern over the incident and suggested precautionary measures for the future, IANS reported.
An official in the Governor House said Malik has called for trial of cases relating to harassment of girls, boys and women living in such state-funded homes by fast-track courts. He also stressed the need for “developing an institutional mechanism” to ensure regular social audit of shelter homes.
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