The Supreme Court has ordered the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the sexual assault case of a four-year-old girl in Gurugram to remain in civil dress while interrogating the minor. It has also been said that his identity should not be revealed in front of the girl. The petitioner’s lawyer said that the SIT wants to get the girl to identify the accused again, whereas there is no need to make her go through the same trauma again. In the last hearing, the Supreme Court had strongly reprimanded the Haryana Police for negligence in the investigation, torturing the victim’s family and insensitive attitude towards the girl during interrogation.
In the last hearing, the court had formed a SIT of three women IPS officers, expressing dissatisfaction with the police investigation. The bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said that the matter will be placed before the Constitution bench of the court. The bench said that this is an eye-opening incident for the entire country. We also need to issue some guidelines in view of this matter.
Before the bench of CJI Surya Katan on Monday (April 6, 2026), petitioner’s lawyer Mukul Rohatgi said that when the minor victim has identified the accused, then what is the need to give her the same trauma by making her go through the same process again. He appealed that the process of identifying the accused should not be repeated. Mukul Rohgati also said that the court had ordered the presence of a female magistrate during the interrogation, but even now the male magistrate is present there.
Mukul Rohatgi further said that even now the case has not been registered under Section 6 of the POCSO Act. If Section 6 is added later, it would be too late because the accused would have got bail by then. On behalf of Haryana, Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati told the court that the investigation is going on and the SIT should be given two weeks time for the investigation. He also told that earlier the people who were investigating had asked the girl to identify the accused, but the SIT does not need it.
ASG Bhati said that the SIT officer only wants to meet the girl. Till now he has talked only to the girl’s parents. He said that the SIT officers also want a child psychiatrist for the girl. On this, the court ordered that SIAT officers should not meet the girl in uniform nor should their identity be revealed in front of the girl.
The Supreme Court said that we also find the SIT’s appeal justified, hence they are given two weeks’ time to complete the investigation. The court said that the SIT officer and the girl’s lawyer should meet her in civil dress without revealing her identity. The court also ordered that the bail plea of the accused will not be heard until the charge sheet is filed.
In the last hearing, the Supreme Court had also made a strong comment on the FIR that the Gurugram Police officials deliberately ignored the evidence which was sufficient to register the case under Section 6 of the POCSO Act, but the officials deliberately registered the case under Section 10, which deals with less serious crimes.
During the hearing, the Supreme Court was also told that the girl was repeatedly taken to the police station, hospital and Child Welfare Committee. Policemen in uniform kept coming to him and made him stand in front of the accused for identification, whereas this process could have been done through photographs of the accused.
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