A Delhi court on Monday suggested conducting part of the hearing in the 2017 Unnao rape case in camera at All India Institute of Medical Sciences in the national Capital, reported PTI. District Judge Dharmesh Sharma asked the counsel of the accused if the statement of the rape complainant, admitted to the hospital, could be recorded. The court will pass an order in the matter on Tuesday.
Lawyers appearing for the accused, one of whom is expelled Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, opposed the suggestion saying that it was not feasible to record the woman’s statement at the hospital. The complainant was injured in a car crash last month.
The Delhi court was hearing the case of the alleged abduction and rape of the woman, then a minor. Sengar and three other men had allegedly raped the complainant on two occasions in 2017. A separate case is being heard in which Sengar is the main accused. Sengar, who was expelled from the BJP on August 1, has been in jail since April 2018.
The statement of the woman’s uncle, who is in judicial custody, was also recorded on Monday in the vulnerable witness room. His examination will continue on Tuesday.
During proceedings, the accused’s lawyer claimed that a chargesheet had not been filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the accident case.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Monday said that it wanted a “fair and speedy trial” in the cases associated with the Unnao rape complainant. It also asked for a report from the district judge, who is conducting the hearings.
“We want a fair trial but at the same time we also want a speedy trial in these cases,” PTI quoted the bench as saying. The bench also said that it would be better if it knew how long it would take to complete the trials in the case from the special judge and listed the matter for Friday.
On August 27, the Delhi court had granted the Central Bureau of Investigation time till September 9 to finish its inquiry and file a status report in the Unnao gangrape case. The Supreme Court had, on August 19, ordered the CBI to finish the investigation in the car crash case within two weeks.
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