Mumbai, June 16 (UNI) The Bombay high court on Monday heavily came down on the official of the Maharashtra government while orally observing that officials must be 'ashamed' of themselves for not being able to point out even after 11 years that whether they have taken any action against the officials of the Children's Aide Society (CAS) and the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) over a 'shocking' New Year's Party in December 2012, wherein 20 mentally disabled girls were made to dance along with 'scantily-clad' dancers in a home meant for children with mental deficiency.

Observing that authorities cannot protect wrongdoers or keep an issue pending for a decade, the Court ordered a probe into an alleged party and directed the Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities (PWD) to initiate an inquiry into the alleged incident within six weeks and forward the findings to the Maharashtra government, which shall take appropriate action against the errant people within three months.

The bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Sandeep V Marne disposed of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed in 2014 by activist Sangeeta Punekar, which had highlighted the “shocking state of affairs”, citing news reports of an alleged party hosted by donors at the MDC homes.

According to a news report, champagne was popped, cash was showered on bar dancers and alcohol was served at the party on December 31, 2012.

According to the plea, a shocking party with liquor, bar dancers and outsiders was held at the Home for Mentally Deficient Children in Mankhurd, Mumbai, wherein around 20 girl inmates of the said home were made to dance with semi-nude dancers till 3 AM.

The incident came to light after nearly 11 months of the incident when staff members of the home run by the CAS wrote a letter to the Governing Council of the CAS, highlighting the incident and seeking to ensure that no such incident repeats in future.

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