Close on the heels of Karnataka High Court lambasting police for ‘taking side of the villains’ in rape cases, the Allahabad High Court has sharply criticised a magistrate for not ‘trying to understand the agony of a man, whose wife was raped by cops inside a police station’.
Justice Sudhir Kumar Saxena made the observation on Thursday on a petition filed by an aggrieved husband against an order passed by a chief judicial magistrate in a case of alleged rape of a woman by the cops inside a police station in UP’s Barabanki district, about 30 kilometres from here, about 15 years ago.
Taking a stern view of the incident, the court directed the inspector general of police to look into the matter and ensure action against the guilty cops within two months and submit a report to the court.
Forcibly taken to station
The victim’s husband had alleged that his wife had been forcibly taken to the police station by inspector Ashok Yadav and constable Ram Nayak on the night of February 23, 1997 and was raped by them.
“I was made to sit outside the police station while my wife was raped by two cops inside,” he had alleged in his application to senior police officials.
Cops threaten
He also alleged that the cops again visited his house later and threatened him with dire consequences if he dared to approach the senior officials.
“I kept silent fearing for my life. But the cops came again a few days later and asked me to send my wife to the police station in connection with a case.
I then decided that I would not keep silent anymore and approached senior cops,” he said.The police rejected the charges following which the victim’s husband moved the Barabanki district court.
The CJM however said in its order that it was a case of molestation and not rape after which the aggrieved husband moved the High Court’s Lucknow bench.
“The magistrate kept looking for contradictions in the petitioner’s application. He did not try to understand the agony of a person, whose wife had been raped by the cops inside a police station,” Justice Saxena remarked in his order.
The High Court directed the district court to consider the matter afresh in the light of its order within a month.
