SC cancels bail granted to two men by Allahabad HC in minor's gangrape case
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court has set aside the Allahabad High Court order granting bail to two persons, accused of kidnapping and gangraping a 14 year-old minor, and expressed displeasure for not making the survivor a party during the bail plea hearing.
A bench comprising Justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma asked the accused – Khargesh alias Golu and Karan – to surrender before the trial court on or before December 30.
The bench in the process allowed the survivor's plea, filed through advocate Pranav Sachdeva, seeking cancellation of the bail granted by the Allahabad High Court.
Taking a strong exception to the fact that neither the accused nor the public prosecutor nor the Allahabad HC informed the minor survivor about the bail hearing, the bench said, "In the instant case, there is gross violation of the said statutory provisions contained in Section 439(1A) of CrPC and Section 15A(3) of the SC/ST Act, at the instance of the respondents."
The high court in the impugned order also did not consider the mandatory requirement of both the Acts and granted bail to the respondents in a very casual and cursory manner, without assigning any cogent reasons, though they were prima facie involved in a very serious offence, noted the bench's order on December 13.
The apex court held the bail orders were in "utter disregard" of the mandatory provisions of Code of Criminal Procedure and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act while setting them aside.
"It appears that the respondents concerned -- accused had not impleaded the present appellant as the party respondent in the bail proceedings filed by them before the high court, and the public prosecutor concerned also had not informed the appellant victim about the said proceedings,” it said.
Referring to the legal provisions, the bench said the presence of the survivor or any person authorised by him or her was obligatory at the time of hearing of the application for bail to the person in cases related to rape and gangrape.
"Similarly, it is also mandatory on the part of the special public prosecutor of the state government to inform the victim about the court proceedings, including bail proceedings as contemplated in sub-section (3) of Section 15A of the SC/ST Act,” the bench said.
According to the plea, the minor had known the accused persons, who were her neighbours, for a long time and on July 27, 2021, one of them, Karan, forced her to meet near a temple on the pretext of going to a park.
Three other accused persons later came in a car and took her to a flat, where they took turns to rape her and "brutally assaulted" her when she tried to raise an alarm, the plea said.
The trial court, on September 13, 2021, dismissed the bail plea of one of the accused on the ground that the survivor's supported the case in her statement.
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Indian vessel 'Jag Laadki' carrying over 80,000 MT crude oil reaches Gujarat's Mundra Port
Ahmedabad, Mar 18 (PTI): Indian-flagged tanker 'Jag Laadki', carrying around 80,886 metric tonnes (MT) of crude oil, arrived at Mundra Port in Gujarat on Wednesday amid the West Asia conflict, officials said.
A day earlier, LPG carrier 'Nanda Devi' arrived at Vadinar port in Gujarat's Devbhumi Dwarka district, carrying 46,500 metric tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) navigating through the Strait of Hormuz. On Monday, another vessel - 'Shivalik' - carrying LPG docked at Mundra Port.
Adani Ports, which operates Mundra Port, said in a statement that the crude oil carried by Jag Laadki was sourced from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and loaded at Fujairah Port there.
"Measuring 274.19 metres in length overall and 50.04 metres in beam, the tanker boasts a deadweight tonnage of approximately 164,716 tonnes and a gross tonnage of about 84,735 tonnes," it said.
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The tanker's arrival at the Mundra Port underscores the facility's critical role in handling substantial crude imports, it said.
"This delivery supports major refinery relies on such shipments to maintain operations and bolster India's energy security during supply disruptions in the region," Adani Ports added.
The port provided the safe berthing of the vessel and maritime coordination in safeguarding vital energy lifelines of India, it said.
Fujairah Port in UAE faced drone and missile attacks during the ongoing Israel-US and Iran war.
India imports about 88 per cent of its crude oil, 50 per cent of natural gas and 60 per cent of LPG needs. Before the US-Israel strikes on Iran on February 28 and Tehran's retaliation, more than half of India's crude imports, about 30 per cent of gas and 85-90 per cent of LPG imports came from Middle East countries such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The conflict has led to a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the main transit route for Gulf energy supplies. While India has partly offset crude supply disruptions by sourcing oil from countries including Russia, gas supplies have been curtailed to industrial users and LPG availability to commercial establishments such as hotels and restaurants has been reduced.
