India has requested that the Kenyan government rescind the diplomatic immunity of a Kenyan diplomat’s son so that he might be prosecuted.
The diplomat’s son has been accused of defiling a five-year-old girl in a Delhi, India, school in 2024. Following the claimed occurrence, the child’s mother has made frantic efforts to obtain justice.
However, due to diplomatic immunity, authorities have been unable to proceed with the case, preventing the police from acting against the Kenyan suspect.According to The Wire, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is committed to ensuring that the minor receives justice.
They have urged that Kenya withdraw the immunity granted to the Kenyan diplomat’s son.Diplomatic immunity includes criminal and civil protection, which means that diplomats cannot be arrested or detained in their host country.
Diplomats are often exempt from taxes and customs duties.This is detailed in Article 37 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which specifies that “members of a diplomatic agent’s family forming part of his household shall if they are not nationals of the receiving State, enjoy privileges and immunities.”
However, there is a potential for a waiver, in which the home country might rescind immunity, allowing the host nation to prosecute.
This is the legal loophole that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA is looking to exploit.In this scenario, there are grounds for immunity to be lifted, as one of the circumstances in which this can happen is in cases of major offenses such as assault and murder.
The defilement incident is thought to have occurred in August 2024. The diplomat’s son was in Class 12 at the time, and Indian media reports reported that he committed the act while an adult.
A case was then filed at South Delhi’s Greater Kailash police station under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
Earlier in February, the child’s parents protested outside her school, lamenting the authorities’ inactivity.
Police officials were forced to interfere as an enraged mob demanded the blood of both the headteacher and the kid, extracting them from the area.
Another parent accused the headmaster of modeling behavior that the youngster emulated, prompting him to commit the terrible acts.
They have since been notified that the Indian government will approach Kenya over a potential immunity waiver.
