Delhi HC appoints Kiran Bedi as head of committee on health of women at Rohini Ashram

New Delhi, April 26: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday appointed former Puducherry Lieutenant Governor and retired IPS officer Kiran Bedi to supervise a committee to assess the physical and mental health of women at Ashram in Rohini, Delhi founded by self-styled godman Virendra Dev Dixit, a proclaimed offender in a case of sexual exploitation. In December 2017, after hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by an NGO, the Delhi High Court directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate the alleged illegal confinement of women and girls in the ashram. CBI filed a charge sheet against Dixit and when he did not appear before the court, he was declared a proclaimed offender in the month of September 2019. Investigation Agency submitted before the court that more than 100 girls were housed in animal like conditions and several appeared to be under the influence of some kind of drugs or narcotic substances. Delhi High Court acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla passed an order that a committee should be constituted to keep a close watch on the welfare of the women. The committee was comprising the District and Sessions Judge Additional District Judge, the DCP of Crime against Women Cell (CAW Cell), the Secretary of the District Legal Services Authority, a nominee of the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) etc. The Court said the committee shall function to see and ensure the physical and mental wellbeing of the women by taking the assistance of doctors, psychiatrists and other experts and shall file its report on a monthly basis. The court further directed the Delhi Government and the Central Government to look at the suggestions and strictly enforce the Women’s and Children’s Institutions (Licensing) Act, 1956. (UNI)