BJP Leader Shahnawaz Hussain has moved Supreme Court against a Delhi High Court order directing that a First Information Report (FIR) be registered in a rape complaint against him [Syed Shahnawaz Hussain v The State]..The appeal was mentioned on Thursday morning before a bench of Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, Justices CT Ravikumar and Hima Kohli. Advocate Mohit Paul urged that the appeal be listed urgently since Hussain's "reputation" was at stake. The Court then agreed to hear the matter next week..Single-judge Asha Menon of the Delhi High Court had said that the police had a lot to explain for not having registered an FIR against Hussain on the receipt of a complaint sent to the Commissioner of Police which clearly disclosed the commission of a cognizable offence of rape after administration of a stupefying substance..The single-judge had made these observations while hearing a challenge to the order of a Special Judge who had upheld the orders of the Metropolitan Magistrate (MM) directing the registration of an FIR.The police had informed the MM that as per the inquiry, the allegations raised by the complainant were not substantiated. Despite this, following the decision of the Supreme Court in Lalita Kumari v Government of Uttar Pradesh, the MM passed an order directing registration of FIR.The special judge subsequently upheld this decision.Hussain then moved the High Court which also refused relief leading to the appeal before the top court. .In the appeal before the Supreme Court, Hussai has stated that order of the High Court will lead to his unblemished career and reputation being "irretrievably damaged."It has further been argued that the complaint against Hussain was "false, frivolous and mala fide" and made with the intention to wreck vengeance."The petitioner is a public figure and is being sought to be wrongly and falsely implicated with a malicious intent and for malafide reasons and dishonest intention by the complainant," the plea states.It has been submitted that the complainant had earlier too defamed the BJP leader on social media platforms such as Facebook. .Hussain has claimed that the facts and reports filed by police are "startling", since it completely exonerates the appellant. The High Court failed to appreciate that on a report called from the police authorities by the Metropolitan Magistrate, the police authorities had conducted a thorough investigation and found the allegations to be totally baseless and untrue..Read more about High Court judgment here.
