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Supreme Court fast-tracks trial
In a historic judgement, the Supreme Court on Friday ordered the fast-tracking of a case relating to the gang-rape of 11 tribal women by 13 Greyhounds personnel of the undivided Andhra Pradesh police back in 2007. The bench comprising Justice Arun Misra and Justice Shantanagoudar dismissed the appeal filed by the police personnel against the order of the magistrate which took cognizance of the com
Visakhapatnam: In a historic judgement, the Supreme Court on Friday ordered the fast-tracking of a case relating to the gang-rape of 11 tribal women by 13 Greyhounds personnel of the undivided Andhra Pradesh police back in 2007. The bench comprising Justice Arun Misra and Justice Shantanagoudar dismissed the appeal filed by the police personnel against the order of the magistrate which took cognizance of the complaint of the victims.
The apex court expressed shock that the case has been dragged for so many years, undermining the very confidence of the tribal women in the criminal justice system. Setting a deadline of six-months, the SC directed that the trial should be conducted expeditiously and on a day-to-day basis.
Supreme Court advocate Vrinda Grover argued the case on behalf of the 13 tribal women of Vakapalli village and assisted by senior advocates Snehashish Mukherjee and Ratna Appnender. Since 2007, the women belonging to Kondh tribe, a particularly vulnerable tribe in Vakapalli village of Paderu mandal in Visakhaptnam district, who are victims of rape by the Greyhound police force, have been waiting for a trial against the accused in the hope of realising fundamental right to justice.
“The accused police personnel have tried to use every legal tactic to ensure that the criminal trial does not begin and has been halted for decades,’’ said general secretary of Human Rights Forum for AP and Telangana VS Krishna.
Around 21 police personnel of Greyhounds allegedly pounced on 11 women in the early hours of August 20, 2007 when their men were out and brutally raped them. Paderu MLA Lake Raja Rao, along with the victims, went to the sub-collector and lodged a complaint. The Paderu police then registered a case in Crime No.86 of 2007 for the offences under Section 376(2)(g) IPC and Section 3(2) (v) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
Largescale mobilisation by tribal and women's groups petitioning the AP High Court forced the government to order an investigation by the CB-CID. The CB-CID filed a report that it was a false case. However, following a protest, junior first class magistrate at Paderu took cognizance of the case u/s 190(1)(b) CrPC.
Within a week of the cognizance taken by the magistrate, the accused policemen petitioned the AP High Court for quash of proceedings. They obtained stay in 2008. After four years, the quash came up for final hearing in April 2012.
