SC agrees to list Unnao rape survivor’s plea seeking transfer of case to Delhi

The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to list the petition filed by Unnao rape survivor seeking transfer of a criminal case against her in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao to the metropolis.

A bench headed by judge NV Ramana said that it'll list the matter, after advocate Vrinda Grover mentioned it before the Court for urgent listing.

Grover said, “it may be a very urgent matter” to which the bench said, “We will list it.”

Approaching the highest court, she submitted that a non-bailable warrant (NBW) was issued against her by the Unnao ACJM court in an FIR filed by the daddy of Shubham Singh, one in every of three men currently facing trial in capital of India for gangraping the survivor.

She termed the case filed by Singh’s father– which alleged that the age-proof document provided by her (survivor) to the police was forged– a “counterblast FIR”.

She said that the case before the Unnao court is being pursued with the “oblique motive to intimidate, silence and harass” her and claimed that there was a grave threat to her life in Unnao.

“The criminal case in Unnao could also be transferred to Delhi to forestall the judicial process from becoming an instrument of oppression and harassment. The transfer of the trial to Delhi won't prejudice the respondents whatsoever, and also the same is within the interest of justice, equity and group action,” stated the plea while seeking transfer of the case.

The plea stated that she has filed an application before the ACJM Unnao for cancellation or withdrawal of the NBWs, saying that she is willing to look before the court through video conferencing.

The plea further submitted that the counter-case was an abuse of the criminal justice process to pull her out of latest Delhi and produce her to Unnao, where she's going to not only be at a grave risk of harm and injury, but will be full of the memory of being repeatedly raped.

“There may be a clear, grave and real risk to the private safety and lifetime of the petitioner, if she is forced to seem before and face a criminal trial in Unnao district, where she was repeatedly raped and gangraped in 2017, by powerful people enjoying political and social clout, who also deviously murdered the petitioner’s father with the connivance of law enforcement officials of PS Makhi,” the plea submitted.

The woman was kidnapped and raped by former BJP legislator Kuldeep Singh Sengar in 2017 when she was a minor.

On quarter day, 2019, the apex court had transferred five cases regarding rape and gangrape of the petitioner, additionally because the murder and custodial death of her father, was transferred from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi. It had ordered the trial to be finished within 45 days.

The Supreme Court had also directed that the survivor, her mother, and other members of the family be provided security by the Central Reserve personnel (CRPF).

On December 20, 2019, Sengar was sentenced to jail for the “remainder of his natural biological life” within the rape case. Sengar was convicted under Section 376 IPC and section 5(c) and 6 of the POCSO Act.

On March 4, 2020, Sengar, his brother, and five others were convicted for the death of the rape survivor’s father in judicial custody and were sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.