The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed Samajwadi Party Minister Azam Khan to tender a fresh apology over his remark terming the Bulandshahr gangrape to be a political conspiracy. The Court ignored the apology after it found that the same was not unconditional.
Dealing with a petition filed by the kin of Bulandshahr gangrape victims - a mother and her minor daughter who were raped by a gang of highway robbers, the bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Amitava Roy had taken umbrage of the comment made by a top ranking Minister in the state and sought an apology for insulting the victims.
Khan in his apology explained that he was a victim of misreporting by the media and explained that his comment was not directed against the victims but his political opponents. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal who appeared for Khan submitted that if the comments were seen to insult the victim in any manner, he was sorry and offered apology.
Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi who was assisting the Court submitted that the language of the apology given by Khan cannot be unconditional. He found support from senior advocate Fali Nariman who submitted that the Court had required Khan to simply state that he apologises for his comment. Sibal agreed to withdraw his apology and sought a week’s time to file a fresh apology.
Sibal added that his client intends to use the word remorse instead of apology. The bench said it would examine this issue on the next date of hearing. His other offer to educate the minor victim at a University was snubbed by the victim's kin.
The petition was filed in the aftermath of a brutal gangrape that occurred on the night of July 29 this year when a Noida- based family was waylaid by a gang of robbers who first robbed them of valuables, and later sexually assaulted the victims. The minor victim, following Court's intervention, has been given admission at Kendriya Vidyalaya in Noida.