Apex court notice to Uttar Pradesh on Banda rape
By IANSFriday, January 21, 2011
NEW DELHI - The Supreme Court Friday issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh government and the CBI on a petition seeking a judicial inquiry as to how a minor girl who was raped in Banda district was jailed for 33 days in violation of the Juvenile Justice Act.
An apex court bench of Justice Aftab Alam and Justice R.M. Lodha was told by the petitioner that under the Juvenile Justice Act (Care and Protection of Children), a juvenile cannot be kept in custody.
The petitioner, advocate N. Raja Raman, in his public suit, told the court that it was not just in this case but in other cases also that magistrates were sending juvenile accused to police custody. He told the court to look at the larger picture.
The girl was allegedly raped by ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) legislator Purshottam Naresh Dwivedi last month. She spent about a month in jail, over an allegedly false theft case, and was released earlier this month.
Dwivedi had got her arrested last month on charges of stealing his licensed revolver, a mobile phone and Rs.5,000 in cash.
Last week, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati ordered Dwivedi’s arrest after the preliminary report submitted by the crime branch of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) confirmed that the teenaged girl was gang-raped. Dwivedi was arrested and sent to Banda jail.
