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Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) to submit documents in relation to the inquiry conducted by it in a sealed cover over the 17-year old Thanjavur girl’s (Lavanya) alleged forceful conversion & suicide case to assist the apex Court.

A bench of Justice Sanjay Khanna and Justice Bela M Trivedi listed the matter after 3 weeks while allowing NCPCR to submit its documents in a sealed cover.

Advocate Swarupama Chaturvedi appearing for NCPCR submitted that they have filed an Intervention application in the matter and seek permission of the Court to submit documents related to the inquiry conducted in this regard in a sealed cover.

In addition to this, Counsel appearing for the Respondents submitted that they have circulated a letter seeking adjournment while seeking time to file a counter affidavit in the matter.

NCPCR had filed an intervention application in the Tamil Nadu Police challenge of the Madras High Court order, transferring investigation into 17-year old Thanjavur girl’s (Lavanya) alleged forceful conversion & suicide case to CBI, stating that there has been a grave injury and violation of the rights, whereas, NCPCR feels duty-bound to submit the findings of its inquiry to assist the apex Court.

The application filed through Advocate Swarupama Chaturvedi has stated that NCPCR has received 3545 complaints with request to conduct inquiry against the allegations in connection to this incident.

In furtherance to which NCPCR had written a letter to the Director-General of Police, directing to initiate an investigation in the matter, whereas, NCPCR didn't receive any Action Taken Report or response in the stipulated time.

In addition to this, the intervention application states that, "Considering the seriousness of the matter, and the lax response of the State Authorities regarding the death of a minor girl in Thanjavur, a team of three officials headed by the Chairperson, NCPCR, visited Thanjavur. Tamil Nadu on 30th and 31st of January. 2022. for the purpose of conducting a thorough inquiry in the matter."

Background:

Earlier, The Supreme Court while refusing to interfere in the Madras High Court order transferring investigation into 17-year old Thanjavur girl’s (Lavanya) alleged forceful conversion & suicide case to CBI had issued notice on the question of remarks made by the High Court against State police’s inaction and bolstering of counter-narratives in the case.

In the Special Leave Petition, the Tamil Nadu government, through the DGP, challenged validity of the order passed by a single-judge bench of the high court's Madurai Bench. The DGP has also challenged the remarks that Madras High Court has made against the State Police's thorough inaction and lack of concerted effort in chasing the probable angle of conversion that led to the girl's suicide and instead of bolstering the counter-narrative of the involvement of the step mother.

The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court on January 31, 2022, had ordered the transfer of the student death case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The Single Judge Bench of Justice G.R. Swaminathan had passed the order in a petition moved by the father of the 17-year-old girl who had killed herself in Thanjavur reportedly because she was forced to undergo religious conversion. Thereafter the girl's father had sought CB-CID inquiry into the case.

In the judgment, the High Court had expounded multiple circumstances to arrive at the conclusion that the "investigation is not proceeding on the right lines" and that it was the Court's duty to render posthumous justice to the child.

"Since a high ranking Hon'ble Minister himself has taken a stand, investigation cannot continue with the State Police. I, therefore, direct the Director, Central Bureau of Investigation, New Delhi to assign an officer to take over the investigation from the State Police," Court said while allowing the petition by M Lavanya’s father plea seeking a CB-CID inquiry into his daughter’s death.

Meanwhile, the father of the girl has also filed a caveat requesting the apex court not to pass any order, without hearing him in the matter.

On February 1, 2022, a plea in the Supreme Court was filed by Advocate Ashwini Upadhyay who had sought an investigation into the root cause of the death of 17-year-old Lavanya. He further sought a declaration that fraudulent religious conversion and religious conversion by intimidation, threatening, deceivingly luring through gifts and monetary benefits offends Articles 14, 21, 25 of the Constitution.

Case Title: The Director General of Police and Ors. Vs. Murugananthan & Anr.