Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi: The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that a sexual harassment case cannot be nullified based on a ‘compromise’ between the accused and the complainant. This significant judgment reversed a Rajasthan High Court decision, directing the prosecution of a government school teacher accused of harassing a minor Dalit student in Gangapur city in 2022.
The case originated when the minor accused teacher Vimal Kumar Gupta of sexual harassment, prompting the registration of a case under the POCSO Act and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The girl’s testimony was duly recorded.
Subsequently, Gupta secured a statement from the victim’s family on stamped paper, asserting that the original complaint was made due to a ‘misunderstanding’ and that they wished to withdraw their complaint. The police accepted this statement and filed a closure report, but a lower court refused to acknowledge it. Gupta then approached the Rajasthan High Court, which accepted the statement and quashed the FIR.
However, social worker Ramji Lal Bairwa contested the high court’s judgment in the Supreme Court. The bench comprising Justice CT Ravikumar and Justice PV Sanjay Kumar set aside the high court’s order, enabling the prosecution of the accused teacher to proceed.
