SC to transfer rape case involving BJP MLA out of UP, ask CBI officer to appear before 12 noon
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday made clear it will transfer the rape case involving BJP legislator Kuldeep Singh Sengar out of Unnao district in Uttar Pradesh and summoned a "responsible" CBI officer before it by 12 noon to provide details of the probe conducted so far in the sensational matter.
The top court also refused a plea of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI that the matter be adjourned to 10:30am on Friday, as the officers probing the Unnao cases were out of Delhi.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi rejected Mehta's contention, saying the CBI director can gather the information of the cases on telephone and apprise the bench on Thursday.
The bench directed Mehta to ensure the presence of a responsible officer at 12 noon before it to give details on the probe conducted so far in the rape and the subsequent accident case.
"We are going to transfer all the cases. We will pass the order to this effect," said the bench, comprising Justices Deepak Gupta and Aniruddha Bose.
It was taken up as the first item by the top court, which said as both the matters have been transferred to the CBI, it would pass orders in the case later in the day after knowing the details from a responsible CBI officer.
On Wednesday, the court had taken cognisance of the rape victim's letter to the CJI and had sought a report from its secretary general why it had not been brought to his notice since July 17.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Voting begins for Assam''s 126 assembly seats
_vb_85.jpeg)
Guwahati (PTI): Polling for all 126 Assam assembly constituencies began on Thursday to decide the electoral fate of 722 candidates, officials said.
In the high-stakes election, the ruling BJP is aiming for a third consecutive term in office, while the Congress seeks to wrest power after being ousted in 2016.
Polling, being held in a single phase, began at 7 am and will conclude at 5 pm. Long queues of voters were seen outside polling stations from early morning.
An electorate of 2.50 crore, including 1.25 crore women and 318 from the third gender, can exercise their franchise in 31,490 polling stations across the state.
Prominent candidates include Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Congress state president Gaurav Gogoi, assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimary, Leader of the opposition Debabrata Saikia, AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal, Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi, and Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) chief Lurinjyoti Gogoi.
Several cabinet ministers, including the AGP’s Atul Bora and Keshav Mahanta, and the BPF’s Charan Boro are also in the fray.
The Congress has the highest of 99 contestants, followed by the BJP (90), AIUDF (30), NDA allies AGP (26) and BPF (11).
Opposition alliance’s Raijor Dal is contesting in 13, AJP in 10, CPI(M) in 3 and APHLC in 2. Outside the two coalitions, the AAP is contesting in 18 seats, UPPL in 18, TMC 22, JMM 16 and there are 258 independents.
The ruling NDA’s main constituents are the BJP, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the Bodo Peoples’ Front (BPF) while the opposition alliance comprises the Congress, Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), CPI(M), All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC) and CPI(ML).
The counting of votes is scheduled on May 4.
_vb_34.jpeg)
_vb_49.jpeg)
