The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Syed Shahnawaz Hussain, challenging the Delhi High Court order, upholding the trial court order for the registration of an FIR against him in an alleged 2018 rape case.

A bench of Justice S Ravindra Bhat and Justice Dipankar Datta said that Hussain had not been held guilty and that all the remedies under the law were available to him.

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In August 2022 the top court stayed the Delhi High Court order to register an FIR against the BJP leader.

It had put on hold the further proceedings before the trial court in connection with the case and also Delhi High Court’s order to register FIR against Hussain.

It was contended by Shahnawaz Hussain that the High Court had proceeded on a presumption that the only method of investigation is the post-registration of FIR, which he said is an incorrect application of the law.

The inquiry report did not find sufficient grounds for even entering into an investigation, the apex court was informed.

The Delhi High Court had found no merit in the petition filed by Shahnawaz Hussain challenging the trial court order and thus decided to dismiss it.

“The FIR be registered forthwith. The investigation be completed and a detailed report under Section 173 CrPC be submitted before the Metropolitan Magistrate within three months,” High Court had said.

The High Court had also said that the police after registration of an FIR and conducting a complete investigation will have to submit a report under Section 173 CrPC in the prescribed format.

A woman in 2018 made allegations of rape and sought the registration of an FIR against Hussain.

On July 7, 2018, the Metropolitan Magistrate of the Saket court ordered the registration of a rape FIR against the person accused.

The trial court’s decision was challenged by Hussain in the Sessions Court, but there too he did not get relief. After this, he approached the High Court.

The High Court had on July 13, 2018, granted an interim stay on the order to file the FIR while examining the matter in detail.

In the High Court, it was submitted that the investigation by the police completely falsified the case of the complainant that she and Hussain were together at Chattarpur Farms where she had been drugged and raped by him.

It was submitted that Hussain had not moved from his residence after 9.15 pm and, therefore, could not have been in Chattarpur at 10.30 pm as alleged by the prosecutrix.

Furthermore, the witnesses at the Roshan Tent House, where the prosecutrix claimed to have met Hussain, have neither confirmed this fact nor did the CCTV footage support her claim, Submitted from Hussain’s side in the High Court.

Moreover, the witnesses at the farmhouse have also refuted her claim that she and Hussain had been to the Farmhouse on April 12, 2018, as alleged by her, Hussain’s lawyer had argued.

It was submitted that the CDRs of the prosecutrix also disclosed that she had remained in Dwarka till 10.45 pm. Thus, her entire case has been falsified by the investigations and, therefore, the MM and the Special Judge had erred in directing the registration of the FIR and these orders were liable to be set aside and the FIR as well as the complaint case and all the proceedings arising therefrom ought to be quashed, the lawyer had added.