Suspended Hathras SHO’s petition dismissed in gang rape-murder case
Dismissing the petition filed by Verma, Justice Raj Beer Singh criticised the officer’s conduct as it considered both procedural violations and a glaring lack of sensitivity in handling the case.
The Allahabad high court has dismissed a petition filed by the suspended station house officer (SHO) of Hathras, Dinesh Kumar Verma, seeking to quash criminal proceedings, including the summoning order issued by the CBI court, Ghaziabad, in connection with the 2020 Hathras gang rape and murder case of a 19-year-old Dalit woman. The petitioner SHO was booked in this case over allegations of dereliction of official duty.
Dismissing the petition filed by Verma, Justice Raj Beer Singh criticised the officer’s conduct as it considered both procedural violations and a glaring lack of sensitivity in handling the case involving a 19-year-old Dalit woman, a gang rape survivor, who later succumbed to her injuries.
The accused, the then SHO of Hathras, is currently facing the CBI’s charge sheet for offences under Sections 166A(b)(c) [failure to record information given to him under Section 154 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) concerning sexual offences] and 167 of the IPC, which deals with a public servant framing an incorrect document with intent to cause injury.
In brief, as per the charge sheet, the accused-applicant failed to stop the media or local reporters from approaching the victim and capturing her photographs and video inside the police station, despite it being his duty to safeguard the dignity of a sexual offence survivor, the bench noted.
It is alleged that when the victim was brought to the police station, her video was recorded by the applicant on his mobile phone, but he failed to refer her for a sexual assault examination, despite her claiming that she had been sexually assaulted.
Besides, he also refused to take the severely injured victim to the hospital either via a police vehicle or ambulance, and instead, he compelled her family to arrange a shared auto-rickshaw for transport, despite the availability of police vehicles.
The CBI’s investigation alleged that, at his instance, false entries were made in the general diary, including claims that a lady constable was sent to examine the victim’s injuries, even though the constable arrived after the victim had already been taken to the hospital.
The charge sheet also claimed that, without examining the victim’s injuries, false entries were made stating that there were no injuries on her body. Also, the accused-applicant failed to register a case on the basis of the statement of the victim.
While concluding that the applicant failed to act as mandated by law, rules, and guidelines, the CBI filed a charge sheet against him. Hence, the petitioner challenged it before the high court.
It was contended by his counsel that there was no evidence of unlawful conduct by the applicant, who managed the situation without causing panic, despite the victim being suddenly brought to the police station amid a crowd and media presence.
It was also submitted before the bench that the applicant did not doubt the victim’s family and immediately sent her to the hospital without examining the sexual assault issue, and that it was a human error that he did not pay heed to the word “jabardasti” uttered by the victim while claiming that she had been sexually assaulted.
Considering the complainant’s statement, witness testimonies, and material collected during the investigation—including general diary entries and CCTV footage from the police station—the court, in its decision dated April 25, concluded that a prima facie case had indeed been established against him.
It may be noted that in 2020, a suo motu case was instituted by the high court over the Hathras gang rape and cremation case to examine the right to decent and dignified last rites/cremation.
The court had taken cognisance of the rape of a 19-year-old girl belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC) community, followed by her cremation in the early hours of the night intervening September 29/30, 2020, which appeared to be against the wishes of her family members.
