[BREAKING] No grounds to suspect "fidelity, accuracy and sincerity" of CBI investigation in Unnao accident case: Delhi court

A Delhi court on Saturday upheld the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe that had ruled out any foul play in the Unnao rape survivor accident case involving expelled MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, who was awarded life-term imprisonment for raping the minor survivor. .District and Sessions Judge Dharmesh Sharma on Saturday while hearing the case at the stage of framing of charges, said, “I have no hesitation in holding the findings of the CBI in the final report/chargesheet, that there is no case against the accused persons so as to take cognizance and proceed against them under Section 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder) of IPC read with Section 120 B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC, cannot be faulted.” The Court, therefore, dismissed the allegations raised by the complainant (survivor's uncle) and framed charges against truck driver for causing death by negligence besides framing charges of criminal intimidation charge against Sengar and his associates. “Cognizance of the offence is taken against the accused driver under Section 304-A (causing death by negligence), 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) read with Section 279 (rash driving on public way) of IPC and under Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) read with Section 506 Part-II (if threat be to cause death or grievous hurt) of IPC against the accused persons namely, Kuldeep Singh Sengar (A-1) alongwith his associates Vinod Mishra (A-3), Haripal Singh (A-4), Naveen Singh (A5), Komal Singh (A-6), Arun Singh (A-7), Gyanendra Singh (A-8), Rinku Singh @ Prakhar Singh (A-9), Awadhesh Singh (A-10) and the summons / process be issued to the accused persons accordingly,” it held. On July 28, 2019, a truck rammed into the vehicle in which the Unnao rape survivor, her counsel and two aunts were travelling to Raebareli. While she and her lawyer sustained grievous injuries, her aunts were killed on the spot. The Uttar Pradesh Police filed a case of murder against Sengar and nine others in connection with the accident. .The CBI investigation concluded that there was no evidence regarding criminal conspiracy hatched between those named in the FIR, including Sengar, and the truck driver or the cleaner or for that matter owner of the offending truck..The Court opined that though there was a "very diabolical” background surrounding the events that took place prior to the incident in question, at the stage of taking of cognizance of offences allegedly committed by the accused persons, neither could it be “swayed by public sentiments, media reports nor the aspect of the conviction of accused Kuldeep Singh Sengar”.Judge Sharma referred to his earlier judgments passed on December 16, 2019 and March 13, 2020 passed in relation to the rape case and the murder case of the survivor’s father, respectively..There were no grounds to suspect the "fidelity, accuracy and sincerity" of CBICourt.The Court went on to add that there were no grounds to suspect the "fidelity, accuracy and sincerity" of CBI’s investigation. “The objections of the complainant party read like an engrossing thrilling story but based on mere surmises and conjectures,” it observed.The Court said that the accident had led to public outcry prompting intervention by Supreme Court. “As was reflected by this court at the beginning of this order, this accident had a cascading effect leading to public outcry and intervention by the Supreme Court resulting in giving voice to the otherwise voiceless complainant party in their quest for justice,” the Judge remarked..Court on UP Police.The Court further said that though the initial investigation by the local police appears to be tainted, lopsided and attempted to reach conclusion hastily to pose the incident as a road side accident to please the superiors and the political masters, however the acts of omissions, lapses and irregularities committed by the local Police have caused no irreparable loss to the foundation of the prosecution..Initial investigation by the local police appears to be tainted, lopsided and attempted to reach conclusion hastily to pose the incident as a road side accident to please the superiors and the political mastersCourt.Breaking: Delhi Court sentences Kuldeep Singh Sengar to imprisonment for the remainder of his life in 2017 Unnao rape case..The Court also found no ground that suggested that the CBI’s investigation was perfunctory, ill motivated or unsubstantiated in any manner. But it clarified that the observations should not be misconstrued otherwise. .“Neither this Court is giving any certificate to the CBI about the quality of investigation conducted in this case nor it is demanded as such by the CBI. There is no gainsaying that many aspects of the investigation shall be tested during the course of the trial. Lastly, this Court is not tying the hands of the CBI to conduct further investigation and in case they come across any incriminating material linking the accused party with any kind of criminal conspiracy to murder or attempt to murder any member of the complainant party,” it directed..Interestingly, Judge Sharma highlighted the statistics on the website of Government of India, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways that showed that every minute a person dies in a road accident in the country. The statistics is stated to reveal that in 2019, there were 4.49 lakh motor accidents resulting in 1.51 lakh deaths whereas 5.41people were injured in these accidents..Only a handful of people abide by road safety measures, while majority are known for reckless and negligent driving, flouting the traffic rules and norms and it is only seldom that people get concerned with the rising road accidents and incidents of road rageDistrict and Sessions Judge Dharmesh Sharma.Since the offenses, of which the court took cognizance, were triable exclusively by the magisterial court, the case was sent to the court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Special Judge, CBI, Rouse Avenue Courts, New Delhi for further proceedings.Advocate Anurag Modi, Public Prosecutor appeared for the CBI whereas Advocates S.P.M. Tripathi represented accused Kuldeep Singh Sengar (A1). Advocates Rajiv Mohan and Nishant Madan appeared for accused Vinod Mishra (A-3), Gyanendra Singh (A-8) and Awadesh Singh (A-10); Advocate Ravi Gopal for accused Haripal Singh (A-4) and Naveen Singh (A-5); Advocate Akhand Pratap Singh for accused Komal Singh (A-6); Advocates D.K. Devesh and Piyush Upadhyay for accused Arun Singh (A-7); Advocate Anupam Dwivedi for accused Rinku Singh (A-9); Advocate V.S. Dhangar for accused Ashish Kumar Pal (A-11) besides Advocates Dharmender Kumar Mishra, Poonam Kaushik, M.Z. Ali, Vivek Kumar, Ravi Kumar, I.M. Hashmi, Mohd. Salman and Sandhay Kohili represented the survivor and legal representatives of deceased advocate Mahinder Singh and Advocate Dr Ashutosh argued for the complainant Mahesh Singh..[Read Order]