Bihar shelter home: Supreme Court summons ex-interim CBI chief Nageswara Rao

The Supreme Court on Thursday summoned ex-interim CBI chief Nageswara Rao for transferring joint director AK Sharma, who was probing the Muzaffarpur shelter home case, calling it a contempt of court. Apart from Rao, the top court has sought personal appearance of S Bhasu Ram, in charge of Director Prosecution, CBI, associated in the transfer of Sharma on February 12.

The three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi also directed CBI director Rishi Kumar Shukla to identify other officers being involved in the development, adding that they have prima facie committed contempt of court, by transferring Sharma, without taking the prior permission of the court.

"We are going to take it very very seriously. You have played with the order of Supreme Court of India. God help you. Never play with SCs order," Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi was quoted as saying. The investigating agency has been also asked to file an affidavit giving an explanation regarding the same.

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The Supreme Court was referring to its earlier orders in which it had asked the CBI not to remove Sharma from the team probing Bihar shelter home cases.

"Enough is enough. Children cannot be treated like this. You cannot let your officers treat children this way. Spare the children," the top court reiterated, coming down heavily on the Nitish Kumar government. 

The court also asked whether the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) was informed by the government that there was an embargo on Sharma’s transfer.

Last year in July, over 30 girls, aged among seven to 14 years, were allegedly drugged, scalded with boiling water, raped and forced to sleep naked at the NGO-run shelter home in Bihar's Muzaffarpur.

The alleged sexual exploitation of the minor girls was first highlighted in an audit report submitted by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences to the state's social welfare department.