Above: CPI workers protesting against the Muzaffarpur shelter home  

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (August 7) rebuked Centre and the Bihar government for doing survey and not social audit of the government-funded shelter homes in the country and in the state.

The bench of Justices Madan B Lokur, Deepak Gupta and KM Joseph was hearing the matter pertaining to the rapes of girls that happened in shelter home in Muzzaffarpur, Bihar. It had earlier taken suo motu cognizance of the incident.

During the course of proceedings, ASG Pinky Anand informed the bench that the Centre had stopped funds to the NGO-run shelter homes.

The Bihar government’s counsel Ranjit Kumar told the bench that government received report on May 23 and it took action on May 31. In between, victims were shifted to another place on May 29.

The bench slammed the counsel and said: “You are taking taxes from the people and funding these kinds of NGOs. Since three four years, you are funding these kinds of NGOs without any check. During one of the inspection, one officer went to the shelter home and checked only files. He didn’t of talking to any of the girls.”

Yesterday also a similar incident came to the light in Deoria, Uttar Pradesh, the bench said.

To which the counsel suggested that social audit should be done by the independent agencies.

The bench said that audit of the shelter homes should be done by CAG and the audit report should be put on websites.

The amicus said that there are other homes run by the same organization in Bihar and there are chances that there also similar incidents may have happened.

Kumar countered it by saying that all the homes run by the said organization have been shut and children have been shifted to some other homes.

It further directed the Ministry of Child and Women Development to place on record before it the available data on social audits of shelter homes.

The bench further enquired about the proceedings pertaining to the case in Patna High Court.

Kumar replied that three petitions are pending in the high court and orders may be passed. He said that he will file an affidavit on that.

The court also observed that even after passing of its order on August 2, some print media outlets had published blurred photographs of the victims on their social media handles. The court order full restraint.

—India Legal Bureau