Read Time: 07 minutes

Synopsis

The division bench of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Rajesh Bindal of the Supreme Court while hearing the plea filed by the complainant in the Unnao rape and murder case allowed a Special Leave petition (SLP) and accepted the condonation of delay. The bench also issued notice.

The bench was hearing the SLP filed in response to the erroneous and unfair impugned order dated 10.06.2022 issued by the high court granting bail to an accused person in connection with the murder of a young girl in Unnao Uttar Pradesh in 2019 by burning her after rape. The high court granted bail to the accused person on the ground that co-accused Umesh Kumar Bajpai and others had been released by the high court by the order dated 04.05.2022.

In May 2022, the Allahabad High Court at Lucknow Bench granted the bail to three accused – Umesh Kumar Bajpai, Ram Kishor Trivedi and Hari Shankar Trivedi who were arrested for setting the victim on fire by pouring petrol on her. This order was passed by the single judge bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh while hearing a Criminal Misc Bail application filed by Umesh Kumar Bajpai and in June 2022 another accused Shubham Trivedi was also granted bail.

It all started when a 23-year-old woman filed an FIR in the year March 2019, with the help of a local court, stating that accused Shivam Trivedi brought her to Rae Bareli under the idea of providing employment and raped her in 2017 while promising her marriage. Shivam Trivedi was also accused of raping her in December 2018. As a result, FIR was filed under Section 376D of the Indian Penal Code for the offence of gang rape.

According to the FIR, Shivam Trivedi had recorded the act on a camera as well and continued to rape the victim by making false promises for marriage. She also alleged that both were residing in a rented room in Rae Bareli for a short period of time and Shivam had created false marriage papers to mislead her.

The police arrested the primary accused in the case, Shivam, after acting on the FIR. However, he was granted bail on November 30, 2019, and in an attempt to take revenge on the victim, he and four others allegedly attacked the victim in the first week of December 2019 and burned her by pouring petrol when she was on her route to Rai Bareili in the early hours of the morning. On 06.12.2019, the victim was sent to Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi, where she died the same day at 11:40 PM, and the case was converted under Sections 302, 147, 342, 324, 326, and 506/34 IPC.

It was also alleged by the present complainant that the accused and their supporters were pressuring and threatening the victim and her family members for compromise and settlement of the matter of committing rape on the victim, which the victim and her family members did not agree to. It was also presented that if the high court had not granted bail to Shivam Trivedi in this serious offence u/s 376-D wherein the minimum punishment is 20 years, then the accused could not dare to do the instant heinous act of murder by burning the victim and not only this but they also managed the abduction of victim’s nephew and complainant’s son.

Cause Title – Anil vs. The State of Uttar Pradesh & Anr.

Statutes – Sections 302, 147, 342, 324, 326, and 506/34 The Indian Penal Code