Prosecute Azam for ‘atrocious’ Bulandshahr rape remark: AG
NEW DELHI: Attorney general KK Venugopal called for criminal prosecution of Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan for terming the gangrape of a mother and daughter in Bulandshahr last year a “political conspiracy”.
Khan’s “atrocious” statement, made days after the rape in August, was an attempt to obstruct a police officer from discharging his public duty, and he should not have been exonerated, Venugopal told a bench headed by justice Dipak Misra.
The attorney general was addressing the bench that will decide if a person in a position of power can be held accountable for making public statements in rape or criminal cases.
The top court took up the issue after the family of the rape survivors moved the Supreme Court seeking action against Khan for his comments.
Initially, Khan denied making the statement and blamed the media for misinterpretation. However, in December, he tendered an unconditional apology, which the court accepted. But it expanded the scope of the petition to determine whether victims of crime have the fundamental right or protection of life and personal liberty.
When Venugopal made his submission, justice Misra told him that Khan had offered an apology full of remorse. “The word remorse is deeper than apology. It means the person will not repeat,” the judge explained. The law officer pointed out that Khan was a repeat offender and flashed the newspaper report to highlight his statements against the Indian Army, which ensued in a sedition case against him.
“You cannot let his tongue run loose. He cannot be exonerated for obstructing the course of justice,” Venugopal said.