Muzaffarpur shelter home case verdict to be pronounced on Jan 14

A Delhi Court on Thursday deferred till January 14 the pronouncement of judgment in case of alleged sexual and physical assault of girls at a shelter home in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district.

All the accused have been ordered to be present in the court during the pronouncement of the verdict in January.

The order was slated to be pronounced today but it was deferred due to the non-availability of the concerned judge. This is the second time the verdict has been deferred.

Earlier it was scheduled for November 14 but due to lawyers' strike in the wake of Tis Hazari clashes, it was deferred for today.

Additional Session Judge Saurabh Kulshrestha had on September 30 kept the order reserved after concluding arguments of both the sides.

More than 40 minor girls were allegedly sexually assaulted over a period of time in the shelter home which was run by Brijesh Thakur's state-funded non-governmental organization (NGO). Thakur is the purported mastermind of the incidents.

Earlier, the court had framed various charges including criminal conspiracy to commit rape and penetrative sexual assault against the accused in the case

The gruesome incident came to light after the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) filed an affidavit detailing horrifying sexual abuse cases at the shelter homes.

In December last year, the Central Bureau of Investigation had filed a charge sheet against 21 accused in the case.

The Supreme Court had earlier transferred the case from Bihar to a Delhi court and ordered the judge to complete it within six months. Trial Court then framed charges against 21 accused in the case.