New Delhi, Aug 01 : The Supreme Court on Thursday transferred all cases pertaining to the Unnao rape incident to a special court in Delhi. The top court also ordered the Uttar Pradesh government to pay a compensation of Rs 25 lakh to the survivor who remains in a critical condition after a car crash last Sunday.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi moved the cases to Delhi while also directing that the trial in the cases should be concluded within 45 days. “We have considered the question of interim compensation to the victim, as an interim measure, we direct the UP government to pay Rs 25 lakh as compensation to the victim.
We also direct security and protection to the victim, her lawyer, mother of the victim, the four siblings of the victim, her uncle, and immediate family members in the village in Unnao,” CJI Gogoi said.
The court has also given two weeks for the investigation into the Sunday’s car crash in which the rape survivor and her lawyer – Mahendra Singh – were grievously injured while her mother and aunt died.
Following claims by the family of the rape survivor, the top court also asked Rae Bareli CRPF Commandment to ensure their safety and security. It also asked the UP government if the uncle of the victim – currently in a Rae Bareli jail, should be shifted to Delhi’s Tihar jail. The uncle has been charged in a case pertaining to assault, which, he claims is fake and cooked up by the now expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar – the main accused in the Unnao rape case.
BJP and the UP government have been facing enormous pressure since the Sunday crash with allegations of conspiracy levelled against Sengar by rival parties like Congress and Samajwadi Party, and by the survivor’s family. CJI Gogoi took suo moto cognisance of a letter written by the family in which they said they faced threats from Sengar’s men.
The case was eventually handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigations.
The designated judge in Delhi will commence the trial on day-to-day basis and complete the trial within 45 days. The probe agency has been asked to file the chargesheet in the case within two weeks.
“We also direct security and protection to the victim, her lawyer, mother of the victim, the four siblings of the victim, her uncle, and immediate family members in the village in Unnao,” said Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, who’s leading the top court bench.
Amid the nationwide outrage, the Bharatiya Janata Party expelled the four-time lawmaker Kuldeep Singh Sengar from the party.
The condition of the Unnao rape victim and her lawyer is currently stable but still on life support, informed the King George Medical University hospital in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, on Thursday, days after an accident took place.
The hospital also told the top court that the Unnao victim and her lawyer can be airlifted from hospital to Delhi.
