Supreme Court upholds bail of former Chief Secretary in rape case, dismisses state and woman's appeals

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed the petitions challenging the bail granted to Jitendra Narayan, former chief secretary of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, in a rape case. The Port Blair bench of the Calcutta High Court had granted him bail on 20 February. Justice Vikram Nath and Justice A. Amanullah's bench gave this decision on the appeals of the state and the complainant woman.

Pronouncing the judgment, Justice Nath said, "We have also directed that the trial be expedited in which full cooperation will be extended by the parties concerned." The bench observed that certain apprehensions had been expressed by the woman regarding herself and her family members. The court directed the administration of the Union Territory to ensure that any complaint, if any, made by the woman is dealt with appropriately.

"We find that the High Court was right in not taking into account the relevant submissions, otherwise it would have affected the final hearing or merits of the matter," the bench said. We have also refrained from mentioning specific facts, although our attention has been drawn to them. The woman alleged that she was called to the residence of the then principal secretary on the promise of a government job where she was raped by Narayan and others.

The apex court had on August 1 reserved its order on the petitions filed by the 21-year-old woman challenging the bail granted to Narayan. Narayan was arrested on November 10 last year when he was the chairman and managing director of the Delhi Financial Corporation. An FIR was registered against him on October 1, 2022.

After this, the government suspended him on October 17 last year. The matter has been probed by the SIT, which filed a 935-page charge sheet on February 3 this year.