SC to hear next week plea of Unnao rape survivor for transfer of 'counter case' from UP to Delhi
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to list next week for hearing a plea of the Unnao rape survivor seeking transfer of a criminal case filed by the father of one of the accused in her sexual assault case from a trial court in Uttar Pradesh to Delhi.
A bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices J K Maheshwari and Hima Kohli took note of the submissions of lawyer Vrinda Grover on urgent hearing of the fresh plea of the rape survivor.
List next week, the bench said.
A Delhi court had in December 2019 sentenced expelled former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar to imprisonment for the remainder of his life for kidnapping and raping the girl in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao in 2017 when she was a minor.
A local court at Unnao has recently issued a non-bailable warrant against the survivor on a criminal complaint of alleged cheating and forgery filed by the father of Shubham Singh, one of the accused being tried in the Unnao rape case in a Delhi court.
The transfer plea, filed in the apex court, alleged the "counter judicial proceedings" against the girl have been initiated in the Unnao court with the ulterior motive of propping up a defence in the sexual assault case.
Sengar's appeal against the conviction and the life sentence is pending in the Delhi High Court, which recently sought the response of the CBI.
The trial court had convicted Sengar under various provisions including section 376 (2) of the IPC which deals with a public servant who "takes advantage of his official position and commits rape on a woman in his custody... or in the custody of a public servant subordinate to him".
It had awarded him the maximum punishment of life term, stating that the convict will remain in jail for the "remainder of his natural biological life", and also imposed a fine of Rs 25 lakh on him.
The trial, which started on August 5, 2019, was transferred from Unnao to Delhi and held on a day-to-day basis following the Supreme Court's directions.
The apex court had taken cognisance of the rape survivor's letter written to the then Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi.
It had on August 1, 2019, transferred all five cases registered in connection with the Unnao rape incident from a Lucknow court to the court in Delhi with directions to hold daily hearings and complete the trial within 45 days.
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Rajnath to top commanders: Outmaneuver adversaries with strategic surprise
Jaipur/New Delhi (PTI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday directed the top military commanders of the three services to integrate an "element of surprise" into modern warfare to outmaneuver India's adversaries and bolster strategic posture.
In his address at the joint commanders conference in Jaipur, Singh also described the Operation Sindoor as a testament to the "swift, precise, and joint response" of the Indian armed forces to safeguard national interests and called upon the military to remain ready to deal with any security challenges.
In their two-day deliberations, the commanders carried out a comprehensive review of the combat preparedness of the military in the wake of the evolving regional security situation.
Operation Sindoor was a demonstration of India's growing capabilities and a symbol of the nation's collective resolve and new military ethos, Singh said, a day after the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor.
He also unveiled a 'Joint Doctrine for Integrated Communication Architecture' that is aimed at strengthening doctrinal clarity, interoperability and integrated communications across the armed forces in future multidomain operations.
The joint commanders' conference, themed 'Military Capability in New Domains', brought together the top leadership of the defence ministry and the three services to deliberate on emerging security challenges and future readiness.
Comprehensive deliberations were held on future warfare, multidomain operations, technological transformation and joint capability development.
The conference witnessed extensive discussions on cognitive warfare, cyber resilience against evolving quantum and AI-enabled threats, military capability development in emerging domains, indigenous innovation and AI-enabled warfighting concepts.
It was attended by Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, Chief of the Army Staff Gen Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh and Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh among others.
In his remarks, Singh asked the commanders to remain "future-ready" by learning from the operation as well as the current global security landscape.
He underscored the need to strengthen capabilities in artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, data analytics and secure communication networks to stay prepared in the rapidly evolving geopolitical security scenario. He emphasised that future conflicts will increasingly be shaped by hybrid threats, information dominance and operations conducted simultaneously across cyber, space, electromagnetic and cognitive domains, according to an official readout.
Highlighting the transformative impact of emerging technologies, Singh stressed on the importance of ensuring integrated national preparedness across all spectrums of conflict, it said.
Singh's remarks at the conference came a day after the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor.
The defence minister appreciated the progress achieved in enhancing jointness, integration and technological adoption across the three services, the readout noted.
Singh said that jointness constitutes a pivotal dimension within the transformative changes sweeping across the global defence sector.
"Future wars will not be won solely through weaponry, but through innovative thinking and enhanced synergy," he said.
The defence minister exhorted the commanders to cultivate the "element of surprise" to remain unpredictable to the nation's adversaries and secure a strategic edge in any given situation.
He, however, urged them to remain vigilant of the element of surprise of the enemy and always stay two steps ahead.
Singh also reiterated the Narendra Modi government's commitment to enhancing the capabilities of the defence forces through state-of-the-art weapons and platforms. He added that special focus is being laid on research in niche domains.
During the conference, he released a documentary film on Operation Sindoor.
The film reaffirms the nation's and defence forces' commitment to operational preparedness and decisive national response capabilities.
Demonstrations of advanced systems and platforms developed for intelligence fusion, operational planning and information management were also showcased during the conference reflecting growing integration of cutting-edge technologies into joint operational structures, according to the defence ministry.
The discussions will contribute significantly towards shaping India's future military transformation and integrated operational preparedness, it said.
