New Delhi: The Supreme Court today stayed the Allahabad High Court’s order of a 2-month interim bail on medical grounds to Gayatri Prasad Prajapati, former Uttar Pradesh minister, who is under trial in a gang rape case.
A three-judge bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, R. Subhash Reddy and M.R. Shah also issued notice while hearing the plea passed by the Uttar Pradesh government against the High Court’s bail order.
The Union government, represented by the Additional Solicitor General SV Raju argued that the high court granted a bail to the politician accused in a POCSO case solely on medical grounds, without considering that he has been treated in premier national medical institutes.
The State government challenged the bail granted to the accused and argued that he was a very prominent minister in the erstwhile government and wielded considerable influence in the corridors of power. The political position of the accused was so dominating that a First Information Report against him came to be registered only after the victim approached the Supreme Court by filing a Writ Petition. Even after the registration of FIR, the accused hoodwinked the investigating agency for a considerable period of time but ultimately surrendered in April, 2017.
Former Minister Prajapati, the accused, is under trial in a case registered against him under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the POCSO Act, 2012, at Lucknow.
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On September 3, a bench of Justice Ved Prakash Vaish of Allahabad High court granted the interim bail to Prajapati on grounds of his medical condition, based on his medical status report. The bail was granted on condition of giving a personal bond of Rs 5 lakh with two sureties of Rs 2,50,000 each to the trial court’s satisfaction.
– India Legal Bureau