The alleged humiliation of a fellow girl student has landed two Delhi University students in serious trouble,with a city court ordering their trial under penal charges of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The charges,if proved,can fetch them a maximum punishment of five years in jail apart from monetary penalty. The two accused,sisters Manisha and Nisha,had allegedly made derogatory remarks about the complainants caste. Manisha studies with the complainant in Shivaji College; Nisha is a student of Shyama Prasad Mukherjee College. According to the FIR,the sisters had humiliated the complainant,first on December 5 and then on December 12 last year. While the first instance occurred in Shyama Prasad College,the second incident took place at the Shivaji Park bus stand,as per the FIR. The girl subsequently lodged a complaint with the police and also wrote to the college principal. During the arguments in court,the counsel for the accused claimed the sisters were being falsely implicated and that there was no independent witness to establish the alleged incident occurred in public view. But Additional Sessions Judge Inderjeet Singh found favour with views of the defence counsel and noted that the accused,because of their previous acquaintance with the complainant,knew about her caste. The court also held that both the alleged incidents occurred in public places and the girls humiliation was prima facie in full public glare. Moreover,she had also written complaints to the college principal,which according to the court,added credence to her version. The court then framed charges under the SC/ST Act against the sisters and directed for initiating their trial. It will start recording the prosecution evidence from February 19 next year.
