Supreme Court transfers Muzaffarpur shelter home case to Delhi court

The Supreme Court on Thursday came down heavily on Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Centre for transferring an officer probing the Muzaffarpur shelter home sexual assault case and transferred the case from Bihar to a court in New Delhi. A bench, headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, said the case should be transferred from the Bihar CBI court to a POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Saket trial court within two weeks and ordered that the trial should be concluded with six months.

The Supreme Court has asked the top investigating agency to file an affidavit giving an explanation about why the officer was transferred despite its order.

“Was cabinet committee which transferred him informed of Supreme Court embargo?,” asks CJI saying it amounts to violation of its order.

Supreme Court transfers the trial of Muzaffarpur shelter home case to Saket POCSO Court, Delhi from Patna. The Court has ordered the judge to commence the trial in 2 weeks and complete it within a period of 6months. pic.twitter.com/qqu2yrJwBb

— ANI (@ANI) February 7, 2019

"Enough is enough. Children cannot be treated like this. You cannot let your officers treat children this way. Spare the children," the top court told the Bihar government.

Supreme Court comes down heavily on CBI and Centre for transferring a CBI officer probing the Muzaffarpur shelter home case despite the Court’s embargo against the transfer of investigating officials. pic.twitter.com/4hzGJiqmTH

— ANI (@ANI) February 7, 2019

The bench said the court will summon the chief secretary if the state fails to give all the information.

Several girls were allegedly raped and sexually abused at an NGO-run shelter home in Muzaffarpur. The issue came to light in May last year following a report by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS).