Can ‘netas’ dub crimes as political conspiracy, SC to decide

R Sedhuraman

Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, August 29

The Supreme Court on Monday decided to go into the need for clamping a gag order on ministers and other ‘netas’ to prevent them from dubbing rape and other heinous crimes as a political conspiracy.

A Bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and C Nagappan said such comments raised doubts over the integrity of the investigations, besides hurting victims’ sentiments.

The Bench passed an order to this effect on a petition by the man whose wife and 14-year-old daughter were gang-raped on national highway 91 near Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, on July 29 in his presence.

The petitioner has sought registration of an FIR against Uttar Pradesh Cabinet Minister Azam Khan for his reported remark that the crime was the result of a conspiracy aimed at defaming the Samajwadi Party government in the state ahead of the next year’s assembly elections.

The victim has also sought a court-monitored CBI probe and holding of the trial in Delhi, instead of in Bulandshahr, besides payment of compensation to his family.

The Bench issued notice to Khan and the state government, seeking their response to all the four pleas in three weeks, and put on hold the ongoing investigation into the crime.

The Allahabad High Court has recently transferred the investigation from UP Police to the CBI after taking suo motu notice of the crime. However, the state counsel was not in a position to tell the apex court about this on Monday, which prompted the Bench.

The Bench framed four questions on the issue of insensitive remarks over rape and said it would come out with its views after hearing the petitioner, the state government and amicus curiae Fali S Nariman. It said some cases of this nature might result in acquittal of the accused by the trial court, but this did not mean that people in power could give these a political colour immediately after the commission of such crimes.

The petitioner has pleaded that the UP government be directed to pay “appropriate compensation” to his family. The court should ensure “safe educational arrangements and security” for his daughter till she completed her higher education.

The victim was driving in the night with his family from Noida to Shahjahanpur when the criminal elements attacked the car and committed the crime. The criminals decamped with the victim’s jewellery and about Rs 36,000.

The state police had failed to patrol the dark stretch of the highway despite the fact that several such crimes were committed there regularly, the petitioner said.