Supreme Court on Minor Rape Case: While giving relief to a senior government official, the Supreme Court has ordered an interim stay on the proceedings against him for molesting and raping a minor girl in Almora, Uttarakhand. Accused officer AV Premnath has filed a petition demanding a CBI inquiry into the ‘criminal conspiracy to implicate him’. A bench of Justices V Ramasubramanian and Pankaj Mithal said, “Since the petition raises serious questions, we are issuing notice and seek reply within four weeks.”
The Supreme Court has issued notice to the Uttarakhand government, CBI and others. Senior advocate Dama Seshadri Naidu, representing the petitioner, drew the Supreme Court’s attention to the report of the medical officer of the government hospital in Ranikhet, which is also signed by the remand magistrate of Almora. It is written in the report that the petitioner is a bilateral amputee (100 percent disabled in both hands).
remained in judicial custody for 74 days
The bench said, “This report was prepared when the petitioner was arrested and his medical examination was conducted at the time of production before the Magistrate. The final report was filed on 30.11.2022 and interim stay on further proceedings Will be.” Premnath, posted as Joint Secretary in the Delhi Secretariat, had approached the Supreme Court seeking a CBI inquiry into the alleged criminal conspiracy hatched against him. He remained in judicial custody for 74 days, until the Uttarakhand High Court granted him bail.
was implicated in a false case
The petitioner claimed that he was implicated in a false case at the behest of some ‘scammers’ as he had exposed some shell companies as part of a Central Government drive. According to the police, the accused raped the minor in the school run by the wife’s NGO in Dandkanda village. He was charged under the POCSO Act and IPC sections 376 (rape), 511 and 506 and certain provisions of the Information Technology Act.
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