SC sets aside HC order granting Chinmayanand access to Copy of Law Student's statement in Rape Case

On Thursday, the Apex Court set aside an order of the High Court of Allahabad which allowed former BJP leader Swami Chinmayanand, who was accused of raping a law student in Shahjahanpur, to access a certified copy of the victim's statement.

A bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Justice UU Lalit, held that Chinmayanand can not get access to the complainant's statement to the magistrate under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) during the investigation.

The Top Court's order came on a petition of the law student in which she had challenged the Allahabad High Court order dated Nov 7, 2019, which held that Chinmayanad was entitled to get a certified copy of the statement of the victim recorded under Section 164 CrPC.

The Supreme Court had earlier granted an interim stay on the order of the HC.

On Dec 6, the High Court of Allahabad granted Bail to the law student, who along with three others, was charged for trying to extort an amount of Rs 5 crore from Ex-Union Minister Swami Chinmayanand.

The matter had come to light when a law student in Shahjahanpur levelled rape allegations on Chinmayanand following which the latter filed a case of extortion against the girl & her 3 friends, namely Sanjay, Sachin, & Vikram.

On Nov 6, the SIT had filed a charge sheet in both the rape & extortion case. Chinmayanand, who is accused in the rape case, is still lodged in jail.  

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