Three Mt Carmel teachers acquitted of child harassment charges

Ahmedabad: A city sessions court on Wednesday acquitted three teachers of Mt Carmel High School who had been charged with causing mental and physical agony to a primary section student in July 2016.According to the complaint filed by the Class 1 student's parent, the three teachers allegedly beat and harassed the child. The teachers were accused of awarding the child corporal punishment and locking up the child in the bathroom. On the child's complaint, the parents took her to a doctor, who gave a negative opinion regarding any physical torture or beating, but on the basis of a counsellor's opinion, the parents filed a police complaint.The three teachers were booked under Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act, which covers assault, abandonment, abuse or neglect of the child by a person in a position of authority, as well as Section 114 of the IPC for abetment. The court did not find sufficient evidence to convict the teachers and granted them the benefit of the doubt. During the deposition, the investigating officer acknowledged that he had never reviewed the CCTV footage or recorded the statements of the school principal, teachers and other students. He neither referred the case for counselling to a govt counsellor as required under Section 62 and 63 of the Juvenile Justice Act. He also told the court that he might not be able to identify the victim, if shown on a camera, due to the passage of time. The child was six when the complaint was filed and 13 by the time the case went to trial, said defence advocate Harmesh Bhatt.Additional sessions judge M P Purohit said that authorities had not given any clear explanation for investigative delays. He said, "Moreover, it has also been established that the CCTV cameras in the vicinity have neither been checked nor seized. Consequently, based on the investigation, there is no conclusive evidence of the accused persons' involvement in the crime."