The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a batch of petitions challenging the bail granted to Jitendra Narain, former chief secretary of Andaman and Nicobar Islands in an alleged gang rape case.
Narain was granted bail by the Port Blair circuit bench of the Calcutta High Court on February 20, 2023.
A bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice A Amanullah delivered the verdict on appeals submitted by the state and the complainant woman against the bail granted by the high court. “We have dismissed all the petitions,” the bench directed. The apex court also directed the trial court to expedite the trial process, with the assurance of cooperation from all parties involved.
The woman alleges that Narain and others raped her after enticing her to the former chief secretary’s residence under the pretext of offering a government job.
On August 1, the Top Court reserved its decision on the pleas challenging Narain’s bail in the case filed by the 21-year-old woman.
Narain was arrested on November 10 last year following an FIR registered on October 1, 2022, during his tenure as chairman and managing director of the Delhi Financial Corporation. The government suspended him on October 17 last year.