Pune: An eight-year-old case, which had made headlines all over the country, was back in news recently. This time, it brought relief to Bishop Emeritus Thomas Dabre of the Pune Diocese.
A co-accused in a 2018 case pertaining to the sexual abuse of a minor, Bishop Dabre has been discharged by the additional sessions court of Pune.
An FIR was registered at Hadapsar police station in 2018 — later transferred to Kondhwa PS — stating that Father Vincent Pereira allegedly sexually abused a 15-year-old boy, while two other prominent members of the church – Bishop Dabre and Cardinal Oswald Gracias, the Archbishop of Bombay – allegedly did not act against the main suspect despite complaints from the survivor’s family members.
The 79-year-old Bishop Dabre had moved a discharge application under Section 227 (discharge of an accused person in a sessions trial) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), saying that the allegations were “baseless and vague” and he was “falsely implicated.” Bishop Dabre contended that there was no evidence against him under Sections 21(1) and 21(2) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, which address the failure to report or record cases of sexual offences against children.
The assistant public prosecutor opposed Dabre’s petition, arguing that there was prima facie evidence of his “active participation in the crime,” and the case was strong enough for conviction.
The court disagreed with that argument.
“There is no prima facie evidence against the accused to frame charges under Sections 21(1) and 21(2) of the POCSO Act,” additional sessions judge Aniruddha Gandhi said in his order.
The order, passed on August 8 and uploaded on the court’s website on August 16, said that the FIR did not allege Dabre restrained the family from filing a complaint. “On the contrary, the survivor’s father admitted that Dabre had told him to approach the police. Despite knowledge of the incident in February 2018, the complaint was filed only on September 14, 2018, a delay of six months,” the order said.
The court further said that the survivor’s father had written to Dabre on February 16, 2018, seeking Pereira’s transfer. Dabre subsequently convened a meeting, where head constable Vikas Tengire of Wanawadi police station reportedly advised that only the victim or guardian could file a police complaint.
A letter dated March 20, 2018, issued on Dabre’s instructions, showed that Father Roque Green had informed Wanawadi police about Pereira’s alleged misconduct and action taken against him. “This shows that the accused (Dabre) had reported the incident to the police,” the court observed.
“The ingredients of Section 21 of the POCSO Act are not fulfilled. On the contrary, there is material to show that the applicant accused complied with the provisions of the law. For the lapses on the part of the informant and the police, the accused cannot be held responsible,” the order added.