Unnao case: SC asks Delhi HC to expeditiously decide on special judge’s request

New Delhi, September 6

The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Delhi High Court to expeditiously decide on the request of a special judge for setting up a temporary court at the AIIMS hospital to record the statements of the Unnao rape survivor, who has sustained injuries in an accident.

Special judge Dharmesh Sharma, who is holding trial in the cases related to the Unnao incident, had recently written a letter to the Delhi High Court seeking permission to hold in-camera proceedings at the AIIMS for recording of the statement of the woman after doctors said it was “not advisable” to bring her to the court premises.

Sharma has informed the Registrar General of the high court that the CBI, the woman and her family have “no objection” to such deposition.

A Bench of Justices Deepak Gupta and Aniruddha Bose also directed the CBI to complete within two weeks its probe and file the chargesheet in the road accident case, in which the rape survivor was injured.

It also indicated that if the special judge needed more than 45 days to complete the proceedings, then it may consider the request.

While transferring the cases related to Unnao incident to Delhi, the apex court had fixed a time limit of 45 days for the trial court to complete the proceedings.

The Bench also sought status report from the Centre within three weeks on setting up of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) courts in districts, where over 100 cases under the Act have been registered.

The top court had on July 25 directed setting up of a centrally-funded designated court in each district having more than 100 FIRs under the POCSO Act to deal exclusively with cases of sexual offences against children.

The apex court had earlier said it wanted “fair and speedy trial” in the cases arising out of the rape of the woman, when she was a minor, allegedly by now-expelled BJP legislator Kuldeep Singh Sengar in Unnao in 2017.

In July this year, a truck rammed into the car she was travelling in with some family members and her lawyer. Two of her aunts died in the road accident.

She was airlifted from a hospital in Lucknow and brought to the AIIMS for better care as she continued to be critical.

On August 1, the apex court had directed Uttar Pradesh government to provide Rs 25 lakh to the rape survivor as an interim compensation.

It had also directed the state government to pay Rs 5 lakh to the lawyer, who is in a critical condition and undergoing treatment.

The court had earlier ordered transfer of all the five related cases in the matter to Delhi but later modified its order putting in abeyance shifting of the accident case till the probe was completed. PTI