Overview

• On June 16, the Bombay High Court disposed of a 2014 PIL by social activist Sangeeta Punekar and ordered a fresh inquiry into an alleged New Year’s Eve party held in 2012 at a government-aided home in Mankhurd.
• Records show donors hosted the event with champagne, cash showers on dancers and alcohol served in the presence of 26 mentally challenged residents, prompting the PIL.
• The bench expressed shock that a prior investigation yielded no punishments and demanded the commissioner for persons with disabilities complete a new inquiry in six weeks.
• The court instructed the Maharashtra government to submit a compliance report within three months detailing any action taken against the delinquent officials.
• Punekar’s plea also cited a separate 2014 allegation of sexual assault on two mentally challenged girls by home staff, underscoring deeper neglect at the state-aided Children’s Aid Society facility.