The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Uttar Pradesh government to produce before it the law student, who accused BJP leader and former Union Minister Swami Chinmayanand of sexually harassing her, and went missing soon after.
The apex court said that it will reassemble in open court after interacting with the girl.
The court had set the date for today to hear the case after it agreed to take suo motu cognisance of a plea of a group of lawyers requesting initiation of proceedings over the matter to avoid any repeat of the Unnao incident.
The girl went missing soon after accusing BJP leader and former Union Minister Swami Chinmayanand, who is the director of the college where she studies, of sexually harassing college students.
The Supreme Court earlier in the day had directed the counsel appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government to give details in five minutes about the exact location of the law student, who according to the police was found in Rajasthan earlier today.
A Bench headed by Justice R Banumathi also asked the UP Police to inform when she can be produced before the court.
In its reply, the state government informed the court that the student has reached Fatehpur Sikri and can reach Delhi within three hours if rerouted to the national capital with security. It further said that the male friend, who was also spotted with her, will come to the court with her.
The student of the Swami Shukdevanand Law College student in Shahjahanpur had accused the BJP leader of “destroying the lives of several girls” and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for help. She went missing three days after the allegations were made.
Hours before hearing in the case, the UP Police had informed that they had spotted the girl along with a friend in Rajasthan.
Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP), OP Singh said that police will do further investigation and take appropriate action.
Meanwhile, the UP police had earlier on Tuesday lodged an FIR against former Union minister and BJP leader Swami Chinmayanand under IPC Sections 364 (kidnapping or abducting in order to murder) and 506 (criminal intimidation) based on a complaint by the father of the girl who accused the former minister of state for Home of having sexually harassed his daughter and kidnapping her.
Chinmayanand had claimed that he was being framed like expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar as part of a conspiracy.
Chinmayanand is a three-time Lok Sabha MP and was a minister of state in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. In 2011, he was accused of rape by an inmate of his ashram. When she got pregnant, Chinmayanand allegedly forced her to have an abortion.