Supreme Court today dismissed the plea of newly elected Lok Sabha MP of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Atul Rai seeking protection from arrest. Rai who won the Lok Sabha election from Ghosi constituency on Uttar Pradesh was accused by a college student from Varanasi of raping her.
Rai had filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking protection from arrest. A vacation Bench comprising of CJI Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Aniruddha Bose refused to entertain the petition and to quash the FIR filed against Rai. The court, however, allowed Rai to approach a court of competent jurisdiction to apply for bail. Rai’s advocate said that there is no provision of anticipatory bail in Uttar Pradesh and that Rai’s petition seeking protection was dismissed by the Allahabad High Court on May 8. He said that he was afraid that Rai could be arrested in relation to the case.
The FIR was filed against Rai on May 2 by the victim who accused him repeatedly raping her, filming the act and threatening her of making the video public. The victim also said that she was forced to sleep with other BSP leaders as well. Rai has been absconding since his pleas seeking anticipatory bail was rejected by the Allahabad High Court. Rai was not present during his election campaign and still, he managed to win the seat. He dismissed the allegations of rape as false and said that he was avoiding arrest until he was seeking relief from the court. His plea pending before a Varanasi court is scheduled to be heard on May 28.
