In a huge setback to senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, the Supreme Court today rejected his ‘apology’ tendered to Bulandshahr gang-rape victims, saying it ‘was not an unconditional apology’.
Khan had last month offered an ‘unconditional apology’ to the Bulandshahr gang-rape victims for his controversial remarks that the crime was a political conspiracy. He had even filed an affidavit to the effect that he never intended to hurt the feelings of the victims -- a woman and her daughter.
In a shocking incident, a 34-year-old woman and her teenage daughter were gang-raped by five to six assailants in Dostpur village on National Highway 91 in Bulandshahr district on July 29. The crime was given event to after waylaying their car carrying six members of the family from Noida.
The Minister had created a controversy after he alleged that a ‘political conspiracy’ is involved in the gang-rape of a minor girl and her mother on the highway in Bulandshahr on July 29. Following this, the family of the victims had approached the court seeking justice.
After the apex court rejected his affidavit today, Khan’s counsel Kapil Sibal told a bench of Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Amitava Roy that the SP leader will file a fresh affidavit -- as demanded by the top court, using word ‘remorse’.
To this, the court said that it will ‘examine whether remorse is sufficient for tendering an unconditional apology’ and posted the matter for further hearing on December 15.
Sibal also argued that his client had made a general remark which was not targeted at the family of the victim, however, the judges were not convinced and they asked Sibal how a public figure like Khan could make such a comment on the crime.
The Uttar Pradesh government had given Rs 7 lakh to both the woman and her daughter under its compensation policy. Besides, Rs 3 lakh each from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund and Rs 50,000 each from the Red Cross were given to them. The state government had also given two flats to them.
