HC quashes rape case against three DJB engineers

Delhi high court on Friday quashed criminal proceedings against three Delhi Jal Board (DJB) employees charged with raping an executive working in a private company in 2006.

Delhi high court on Friday quashed criminal proceedings against three Delhi Jal Board (DJB) employees charged with raping an executive working in a private company in 2006.

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Allowing the plea of DJB engineers Sharat Chandra, Praveen Bhargav and Ramesh Thakur, justice Suresh Kait overturned the order of the trial court which had summoned the officials to stand trial despite a closure report by the police stating that they were falsely implicated. The ‘victim’ was a senior executive with a private firm engaged in contract work for the DJB.

“The court has to interfere wherever there has been failure of justice or misuse of judicial mechanism or procedure. This court is not expected to be a silent spectator,” the judge said.

The court accepted arguments of Manoj Taneja, lawyer for the accused, that the trial court had ignored the several months’ delay in lodging the complaint and closure report by the police.

The counsel said the complainant claimed the incident happened at her house in October 2006 and the case was registered at Malviya Nagar Police Station in June 2007.

The officials had moved the high court against a lower court order that summoned them to stand trial in the case. The lower court had rejected a police report to close the case and issued summons.

In their plea, the accused had contended that the trial court summoned them despite the police stating in its closure report that they were falsely implicated.