Last year, Badnapur police station in Jalna, Maharashtra filed an FIR under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act against two men, Shankeshwar alias Shambhu Dhakne and Sopan Dhanke, for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor in the temple premises where all of them lived along with other disciples.
They were also accompanied by a 91-years-old priest who was colloquially called ‘baba’ (godman).
However, when the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court started shuffling through the documents submitted to them, they were appalled to find out that the father of the victim had donated his 17-year-old daughter to the baba, by executing ‘daanpatra’ (deed of donation) on stamp paper, reported The Indian Express.
The deed of donation between the father of the girl and the baba stated that the father had given his daughter in a donation to the baba in question and the ‘kanyadan’ has been made.
Referring to the deed, the single-judge bench of Justice Vibha V Kankanwadi observed that a girl is not a property that can be donated.
“It is stated that the father of the girl has given his daughter in donation (Daan) to the Baba and it is stated that the said Kanyadan has been made in presence of the god. When the girl as per her own statement is minor, then why does the father, who is in all respect the guardian of the girl, give the girl as Daan? A girl is not a property which can be given in donation.”
However, presenting their case, the two accused who applied for bail maintained that they were falsely accused by the victim who allegedly filed a complaint against them under the influence of the baba. Hence, they should be released on bail.
An affidavit filed by the baba also came to the notice of the judge that stated that the baba is the father of the girl, whom he adopted from her biological father, reported NDTV.
But sadly, Justice Kankanwadi didn’t find enough material on record to prosecute the Dhakne brothers under the charges of rape. The court granted bail to the two accused.
However, the court, concerned about the minor girl observed, “This Court is concerned with the future of the minor girl and in view of such document coming forward, can’t shut the eyes.”
“Therefore, under these circumstances, this would be the fit case where the directions need to be given to Child Welfare Committee (CWC), Jalna to hold an inquiry on the expeditious basis in respect of the girl and to find out whether she is a fit person to be declared as a child in need of care and protection.”
This is how people reacted to the case:
As of now, the girl is safe under the custody of the CWC. Having said that, this case proves that even in 2022, India isn’t free from such regressive practices and our daughters are still not safe.