The Supreme Court on Thursday formally ordered the transfer of five cases related to the rape of a minor in Unnao and the road accident she was involved in this week from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi.
The order was passed by a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and comprising Justices Deepak Gupta and Aniruddha Bose. The Supreme Court ordered that the “competent” court in Delhi, which would hear the cases, should conduct day-to-day hearings and complete hearings in 45 days.
The Supreme Court also ordered the government of Uttar Pradesh to give interim compensation of Rs 25 lakh to the Unnao survivor by Friday. The Supreme Court also ordered that security be provided to the victim, her family and her lawyer and his family.
The Unnao survivor had alleged in 2018 that she had been raped by BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar. The Unnao rape survivor and her lawyer were critically injured after the car they were travelling in was hit by a truck in Rae Bareli on Sunday. Two of the aunts of the survivor died of injuries sustained in the accident.
Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court had also summoned a “responsible” CBI officer to appear before it to apprise it of the developments in the investigation of the Unnao rape case. The Supreme Court ordered the CBI to complete the probe into the Unnao survivor's car accident in a week's time.
The Supreme Court sought a report from the doctors of the King George Medical College Hospital in Lucknow where the Unnao survivor and her lawyer were being treated. The Supreme Court sought to ascertain the feasibility of whether the Unnao survivor and her lawyer could be shifted for treatment to AIIMS in Delhi. However, the CBI informed the Supreme Court there was no need to shift the Unnao survivor to Delhi as the Lucknow hospital had adequate facilities.
The Supreme Court directed that the Unnao survivor's family be consulted on the decision to shift her to Delhi for treatment.
The Supreme Court had taken cognisance of a letter the Unnao survivor had wrote to it on July 12. The secretary general of the Supreme Court informed the Supreme Court on Thursday that the registry was in the process of screening letters when it was informed of the letter from the Unnao survivor. On Wednesday, Chief Justice Gogoi had sought a report on why the Unnao survivor's letter had not reached the court despite having been sent on July 12. The secretary general informed there was no “deliberate” delay in dispatching the Unnao survivor's letter to the chief justice.
