SC imposes interim stay on proceedings against govt official over rape of minor

The Supreme Court has ordered an interim stay on the proceedings against a senior government official accused of molesting and raping a minor girl in Uttarakhand’s Almora.

A bench of Justices V Ramasubramanian and Pankaj Mithal issued notices to the Uttarakhand government, the Central Bureau of Investigation and others while seeking their response in four weeks.

Senior advocate Dama Sheshadri Naidu, appearing for the petitioner, told the court that the report of the Medical Officer, Government Hospital, Ranikhet, also countersigned by the Remand Magistrate, Almora, records the fact that the petitioner is a bilateral amputee (100 per cent handicapped by hands).

“The said report was made when the petitioner was arrested and was medically examined at the time of production before the Magistrate.

“Since the petition raises serious questions, issue notice, returnable in four weeks. It is stated that the final report has been filed on November 30, 2022 and the charges are yet to be framed. Therefore, there shall be an interim stay of further proceedings,” the bench said. The top court was hearing a plea filed by AV Premnath, who was posted as joint secretary at Delhi Secretariat, seeking a CBI investigation into alleged criminal conspiracy against him.

The officer had been charged under the POCSO Act and IPC sections 376 (rape), 511 (punishment for attempting to commit offences) and 506 (criminal intimidation), and some provisions of the Information Technology Act. The police had claimed that the accused molested the minor in a school run by his wife’s NGO ‘Pleasure Valley Foundation’ in Dandakanda village.