Sexual assault of student: Court cites ‘consensual relationship’ while granting bail to school teacher

MUMBAI: The 40-year-old female teacher of a prominent Mumbai school who was booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for engaging in sexual activity with one of her students, was granted bail on the ground that the boy was over 16 years of age, and evidence shows there was a “consensual relationship subsequently.”

- Vikrant Jha

As reported earlier by HT, the teacher had been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting the minor student on multiple occasions for over a year and for luring him to five-star hotels, plying him with alcohol and then engaging in sex with him. She was arrested last month after the boy's family complained to the police.

In a detailed order, the special court for cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act noted that the accused's resignation from the school last year—during which the alleged sexual assaults took place-- had diluted the “student-teacher dynamic.” Special judge Sabina Malik also said the trial will take time to commence, so keeping the woman behind bars would not serve any purpose. The court granted the woman bail after considering that she is the mother of two minor children.