Fayaz Bukhari
Srinagar, Feb 10: Former Minister of State for Health, Shabir Ahmad Khan, today moved to the Jammu and Kashmir High Court seeking bail in the sexual assault case while the victim filed a fresh complaint against a Member Parliament and scribes for identifying her.
Khan is evading arrest even as the Chief Judicial Magistrate Srinagar issued an arrest warrant against him for attempt to molest a lady doctor last month in his office chamber at Civil Secretariat in Srinagar.
Counsels for Khan, Advocate, B S Salathia, submitted the bail application before the Srinagar wing of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court seeking bail for Khan against whom FIR is lodged in Police Station Shaheed Gunj, Srinagar.
The single Bench of the High Court comprising Justice J R Kotwal, heard the application and directed the State to file a response by tomorrow and listed the case for hearing on Wednesday.
Khan’s counsel in his application said it is a pre-planned move for disgracing the petitioner, who is a senior political leader, thus the application deserves to be allowed by granting bail to the petitioner.
However, Justice Janak Raj Kotwal after going through the FIR, directed the prosecutor, Additional Advocate General, Rafiq Ahmad Khan, to file the objections on Wednesday.
Advocate Salathia tried to pursue with granting of bail to Khan but the Court directed him not to insist for the bail. “If you continue to pursue with the granting of bail, I will dismiss the application”, the Court observed.
Salathia in his application had also said:”As is evident from the contents of the FIR, it is merely an allegation on the basis of which no offence is made out and the date of alleged occurrence is January 28, 2014 and the FIR has been lodged after a period of nine days on February 6.”
“The allegations might be simple from your point of view,” Justice Kotwal told Advocate Salathia.
Meanwhile, the lady doctor, who has filed a complaint with the police against the former MoS Health for attempt to molest her, has now filed a complaint against a Member of Parliament, some media houses and journalists for disclosing her identity.
In a statement issued here the lady doctor says: “I, the complainant, have already lodged a complaint with SDPO Shaheed Gunj on of February 8, 2014 requesting him to take an appropriate action in accordance with law against some editors, publishers, printers authors and Member Parliament, Choudhary Lal Singh, for defaming my character and disclosing my identity which is totally against the Supreme Court guidelines.”
The lady doctor in her fresh complaint said the incident of the assault was being “discussed negatively which amounts to rubbing salt on my wounds”.
She said such utterances pained her. “It is very unfortunate that many newspapers and some persons are commenting on the event in a way which is very painful and far from norms. Such incidents (sexual assault) already torment the woman in our social setup and it needs enormous courage to raise voice against such crimes”, she said.
“Such statement could reprieve and provide an escape route to the guilty and lead to miscarriage of justice in this case,” she said.
Asserting that she has stood up for the safety of all the women at their workplace in Kashmir, the victim said she firmly stands by her complaint and is “looking forward to delivery of justice”.
She appealed to all concerned to repose trust in the institution of justice and refrain from politicizing the issue.
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