SC stays High Court’s order of grant of interim relief from arrest to an advocate accused of sexual harassment

The Allahabad High Court's decision to grant relief to restraining the Police officials from arresting a lawyer of Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court who is accused of sexual harassment has curtail down by the Apex Court of India.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed an order of the Allahabad High Court to the extent it restrained the UP Police from arresting a government counsel, Sailendra Singh Chauhan in connection to a rape case lodged against him by a Delhi-based lawyer.

The Division bench comprised of Justice RF Nariman and Justice Navin Sinha while hearing passed stay order against the HC order.

Last week, the Allahabad High Court had granted interim relief from arrest to Additional Chief Standing Counsel, Shailendra Singh Chauhan in the Lucknow bench of the High Court.

He has been accused of sexual harassment by a young practising lawyer from Delhi and a FIR in the matter has been lodged at the Vibhuti Khand Police Station in Gomti Nagar area, under Sections 328 (Causing hurt by means of poison, etc., with intent to commit an offence), 354A (Sexual harassment) and 376 (Rape) of IPC. Chauahn had approached the High Court stating that the allegations leveled against him were false and therefore, the FIR registered against him ought to be quashed.

Though the Allahabad High Court  had refused to quash the proceedings instantly, it had granted interim relief from arrest to Chauhan and  granted time period of one week  to the Complainant's lawyer to file a reply in the matter.

This order of HC came to be challenged before the Supreme Court, which has directed that there shall be stay of the operation of the impugned order.

Significantly, the impugned order inasmuch as it makes a direction upon the competent court to enable the investigating agency to recover relevant material connected with the case, has not been interfered with.

There shall be stay of the operation of the impugned order except the following:

"As an interim measure, the competent court is hereby directed to pass necessary orders on the pending application so that the investigating agency may assume possession of the relevant material which may have a bearing upon the case. As an abundant caution, we provide that an appropriate order to this effect may be passed so that there is no tampering with the evidence of the case"," the Apex Court ordered.

Case Details

Case Title: Neelam Chaturvedi v. State of UP

Bench: Hon’ble Justice R F Nariman and Hon’ble Justice Navin Sinha