“Can’t Browbeat Child”: Supreme Court on Vigilante ‘Intimidation’ of Protester

Allegations of abuse of a young girl who took part in the July Cockroach Janta Party protests were taken seriously by the Supreme Court on Thursday. No one may browbeat a victim or her family for filing a criminal complaint, the court said.

The 14-year-old girl’s attorney told the court that after she filed a formal complaint against right-wing vigilante Swatantra Bhardwaj, who claimed in a video that he had beaten her father during the CJP’s rally, she was harassed and her home was vandalised.

“There cannot be any second opinion about it. Such matters cannot be taken lightly. Nobody should be protected. If violence against a child is involved and persons are roaming free and trying to browbeat the child or the family so that they do not pursue the criminal proceedings, then it’s a serious matter,” the CJI-led bench observed.

Prior to this, on September 5, Delhi Police added criminal intimidation and provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act to the FIR against Swatantra Bhardwaj for the alleged assault on the father of the young activist during the CJP-led rallies. After the CJP protested outside the Parliament Street police station and demanded that Bhardwaj be arrested for the alleged assault, he was taken into custody in Bulandshahr.

The move came after Bhardwaj claimed in an interview that he had “cracked the skull” of the young activist’s father during the rally on July 20 and that his political connections had allowed him to avoid jail. The attorney stated, without naming individuals, that a formal complaint has been filed against the youngster rather than pursuing those who were with the accused.

“The high-powered committee will take time, but if something happens to the child in the meantime, that cannot subsequently be reversed or repaired through the committee,” the counsel submitted. Responding to the submission, the CJI said, “If there are anti-social elements who indulged in violence against child, and they are roaming free, and are trying to browbeat the child, that may be a serious thing.”