1. A bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and R. Mahadevan told petitioners to file fresh representations or reminders with the NCPCR and the State Commissions in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal regarding alleged abuse.
Supreme Court Directs ISKCON Abuse Petitioners To Child Rights Commissions
The Supreme Court dismissed a plea seeking a probe into alleged sexual abuse in ISKCON-run schools, asking petitioners to approach the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and relevant state child rights commissions instead.
2. Petitioners had claimed that ISKCON internal records show serious incidents of sexual abuse, and that their earlier complaints to authorities went unaddressed.
3. During the hearing, the Court emphasized that child protection concerns should first be brought to the “neutral” statutory bodies designated for such allegations, rather than directly to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday (November 25, 2025) directed petitioners alleging sexual abuse in schools run by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) to approach the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and the respective state child rights bodies with their complaints.
A bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and R. Mahadevan said that if fresh representations are submitted to the NCPCR, as well as the State Commissions for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, the authorities must consider them within a reasonable period.
“We dispose of this petition by reserving liberty to the petitioners to make a fresh representation or reminder to NCPCR, the UP SCPCR and the West Bengal SCPCR, bringing to their notice the allegations ventilated in this petition,” the bench stated.
The court was hearing a plea filed by Rajneesh Kapur and others, which sought an investigation into alleged instances of sexual abuse in ISKCON-run educational institutions. The petition claimed that internal records indicated multiple cases of serious abuse and that earlier complaints to authorities had gone unanswered.
The petitioners argued that the matter involved a failure by various authorities to fulfil their constitutional and statutory duties to protect the fundamental rights of children under Article 21, including safeguarding them from sexual and physical abuse.
They claimed to have previously submitted detailed complaints outlining instances of alleged sexual, physical, and psychological abuse. According to the plea, materials and evidence referenced in the case point to more than 200 children who allegedly suffered systematic abuse at the hands of senior ISKCON leaders.
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