Harassment case can't be cancelled after 'compromise': Supreme Court
Supreme Court on Thursday stated that a sexual harassment case cannot be dismissed because the complainant and the accused reached a 'compromise'.
PTC News Desk: The Supreme Court on Thursday stated that a sexual harassment case cannot be dismissed because the complainant and the accused reached a 'compromise'. The court overturned a Rajasthan High Court decision that had granted relief to a teacher accused of sexually harassing a minor student and ordered his prosecution.
The case is from 2022 and takes place in Gangapur, Rajasthan. A minor Dalit girl filed a police complaint alleging sexual harassment by a government school teacher. As a result, a case was filed. The case also mentioned the POCSO Act and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The minor's statement was also recorded.
However, the accused teacher, Vimal Kumar Gupta, obtained a statement from the girl's family on stamp paper. According to the statement, they filed a police report due to a misunderstanding and no longer want any action taken against the teacher. The police accepted this and filed a report.
However, a lower court dismissed this statement. The accused then petitioned the high court, which accepted it and ordered the FIR quashed. Ramji Lal Bairwa, a social worker, filed a Supreme Court appeal against this high court decision. The bench of Justice CT Ravikumar and Justice PV Sanjay Kumar overruled the high court decision, paving the way for the accused teacher's prosecution.