HC disposes of harassment case against TMC chief

The Bombay High Court on Monday disposed of a petition which alleged that Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) Commissioner Sanjeev Jaiswal had allegedly sexually harassed a 15-year-old girl employed by him as domestic help.

The court refused to issue directions or pass orders on the petition after the victim retracted allegations when her statement was being recorded by the police and the magistrate.

A Bench comprising Justices R.M. Savant and Sarang Kotwal was hearing a plea filed by an activist Vikrant Karnik, seeking appropriate directions to the Thane Police. In his plea, Mr. Karnik had alleged the minor girl had been employed by Mr. Jaiswal as domestic help.

The petitioner claimed that in December last year, he came across a video on social media in which the girl alleged Mr. Jaiswal had subjected her to mistreatment and harassment.

Mr. Karnik said he filed a police complaint and also wrote to the Thane Commissioner of Police seeking a probe into the matter, but no appropriate steps were taken by the authorities.

The State government submitted that soon after the alleged video surfaced, the girl and her family left Thane for Surat in Gujarat, and her statement could not be recorded. It had also raised doubts on the veracity of the girl’s allegations.

The Bench, however, had noted that the police had an obligation to implement the provisions of section 24 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, that deals with recording a minor victim’s statement irrespective of apprehensions on the veracity of the allegations.

On Monday, State government counsel Y.P. Yagnik submitted transcripts of the victim’s testimony to the Thane Police and also before the magistrate under section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), stating that the allegations made by her were false.

The Bench noted that nothing survived in the plea, given the retraction of allegations by the victim.