The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the Uttar Pradesh police to register a First Information Report (FIR) against Samajwadi Party MlA and a Minister in UP Cabinet till recently Gayatri Prasad Prajapati and several others on a woman’s complaint that she was raped by the Minister
several times between 2013 and 2016.
A Bench of Justices AK Sikri and RK Agarwal directed the FIR to be registered under the charges of gangrape and molestation against the persons named by the woman in her complaint. The complainant is a sitting councilor in the State and had come in touch with Prajapati who invited her to come to lucknow on the pretext of giving her an important place in the party organisation. The alleged incident first took place in October 2014 and continued till July 2016. The Court termed the matter “serious” and directed the state to submit an investigation report in a sealed cover within two months.
The complainant’s lawyer Mahmood Pracha submitted to the Court that the least that was expected from the police authorities in the State was to register the complaint. According to Pracha, not only was the woman subjected to rape by the Minister but by his associates as well, who blackmailed the victim with her objectionable pictures clicked by the Minister. Also, the accused had once misbehaved with the complainant's daughter, who too has given a statement to the police.
Appearing for the State Government, advocate Ravi Prakash Mehrotra submitted an affidavit indicating the steps taken so far by the police department. According to him, the allegations pertained to 2013 and there was considerable delay in lodging the complaint. He submitted that the petitioner sought political gains by raising the issue close to the occasion when elections are being held in the State.
The Bench turned down the argument as it felt that the allegations were too serious to be ignored. The Court also relied on the Supreme Court judgment in lalitha Kumari case which mandates police to register a FIR of every cognisable offence.
Pracha refuted the State's argument by claiming that the petition was filed in October last year, much before the elections were announced. Before approaching the Court, the victim had lodged complaint with the DGP during the same time but no FIR was lodged.
He further submitted that the victim faced great mental and physical torture at the hands of the accused, but could not take it any more after the accused targeted her daughter as well. The woman and her family are currently living in fear for their life and have settled out of UP due to threats received by the Minister and his associates.
Mehrotra told Court that the State police was willing to give protection to the victim and her family within the State. The Court while issuing notice to the state on November 25, 2016 had directed the Delhi Police Commissioner to consider the victim’s request for security on merits.