Allahabad HC takes suo motu cognisance of Bulandshahr gang-rape

Allahabad: The Allahabad High Court has taken suo motu cognisance of the recent gangrape of a woman and her minor daughter on a highway passing through Bulandshahr district of western Uttar Pradesh which sent shock waves across the country, and decided to hear the matter.

The case has been listed as a criminal Public Interest Litigation titled "rape of mother and daughter on NH-91" in the cause list for tomorrow and it would be heard by a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Dilip Babasaheb Bhosale and Justice Yashwant Varma.

According to court sources, the Chief Justice decided to hear the matter suo motu taking a grim view of the horrific sexual assault which took place on July 29 when the mother-daughter duo, accompanied by four other family members, was dragged out of their car on the highway and raped in a nearby field.

A political slugfest followed the incident which was raised in both houses of Parliament. The situation got exacerbated in the wake of the remark of senior Samajwadi Party leader and Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan who suspected a "political conspiracy" behind the ghastly crime.

In response to Khan's remark, BJP leader I P Singh put up angry posts on Facebook and Twitter, saying the state minister would be able to see the truth only when his own wife and daughter suffered similar ordeals.

Another petition seeking a CBI inquiry into the incident had come up before the Lucknow bench of the High Court on Friday. The matter has been posted for further hearing on August 8.