Supreme Court Affirms Bail Granted To Former Andaman Chief Secretary Jitendra Narain In Port Blair Gang Rape Case

This verdict was delivered by a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Ahsanuddin Amanullah after hearing a batch of pleas for the cancellation of bail of the suspended AGMUT cadre IAS officer. The list of petitioners who had sought Narain's bail to be cancelled also included the survivor on the basis of whose complaint, the Andaman and Nicobar police had lodged a first information report (FIR) in October 2022. Narain was directed to be released on bail in February this year by the Port Blair bench of Calcutta High Court.

Justice Nath informed the parties of the decision of the court to dismiss the clutch of petitions seeking cancellation of Narain's bail, today. He said, "We find that the high court was right in not dealing with respective arguments because it would affect the trial of the case. We have also refrained ourselves from dealing with the facts, although we have noticed a few."

While dismissing the petitions challenging the bail granted to the accused, the Supreme Court also took into account certain apprehensions raised by the survivor and directed the union territory administration to 'adequately' deal with any complaint made by her. The Justice Nath-led bench further directed the trial court to expedite the trial and the respective parties to fully extend their cooperation.

Background

Jitendra Narain, a 1990-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre, has been accused, along with other government officials, of raping a 21-year-old woman. Narain was posted as chief secretary of Andaman and Nicobar Islands during this alleged incident. The survivor has alleged that she was lured into the chief secretary’s home on the promise of a government job and raped by top officials.

In October 2022, the Andaman and Nicobar police registered a case in October based on a complaint filed by the woman against Narain and others. At the time of the complaint, Narain was posted in Delhi as the chairman and managing director of the Delhi Financial Commission (DFC). On receiving a report from the police, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) suspended the senior IAS officer in the same month. A special investigation team (SIT) of the A&N was formed to probe into the gang rape allegation and Narain was arrested in November last year. He and three others have been charged with offences under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, including Sections 376C and 376D.

Earlier this year, in February, the circuit bench of the Calcutta High Court at Port Blair granted Narain bail after imposing certain conditions. The division bench of Justice Chitta Ranjan Dash and Justice Md. Nizamuddin observed –

“This case being a first case in the life of the petitioner and he being not a history-sheeter, there is no likelihood of the offence being repeated by him. The petitioner being an officer of the Union of India and he being still in service there is also no chance of his absconding. We do not find materials to satisfy us that release of the petitioner on bail shall be a liberty to the petitioner to influence the witnesses or there is any danger of justice being thwarted by such order being passed.”

The high court said that a prima facie case against Narain based on police documents could be discerned, but at the same time, emphasised that the existence of a prima facie case did not automatically warrant denying bail and infringing upon the fundamental right to liberty of the accused. It further noted, among other things, that the IAS officer had already been transferred from the region before his suspension, and certain witnesses were under police protection. As a result, the Port Blair circuit bench ordered Narain’s release on bail under specific terms and conditions to be determined by a magistrate. These conditions would include restricting the officer’s visits to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, barring communication with anyone from the region, prohibiting any intimidation of witnesses, and allowing travel outside the country only with official permission. The court also directed Narain to submit his passport during the trial, with provisions for its return during official travel upon proper application.

Earlier, Narain was also extended interim transit bail by the Delhi High Court and also was granted interim protection by the principal bench of the Calcutta High Court.

Case Title

XXX v. Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands & Anr. | Special Leave Petition (Criminal) No. 3482 of 2023 and other connected matters

Citation : 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 718

Click here to read the judgment