New Delhi, Oct 8 (UNI) The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to grant former BJP leader Chinmayanand, accused in a rape case access to a certified copy of the complainant's statement.
A bench headed by Justice UU Lalit and also comprising Vineet Saran and Ravindra Bhat, under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), set aside an order of the Allahabad High Court which allowed Chinmayanand, who was accused of sexual harassment and rape of a law student in Shahjahanpur, to access the certified statement of the complainant during the probe.
The Bench also held that as per the terms of its previous judgment in 2014, a rape victim's statement should preferably be recorded within 24 hours directly before a lady magistrate.