HC refuses withdrawal of woman's rape plea against J'khand CM

The Bombay High Court has said itis not inclined to permit the withdrawal of a petition filedby a woman, who had made rape allegations against JharkhandChief Minister Hemant Soren.

On Monday, a division bench of Justices S S Shinde andManish Pitale said it will hear the woman's plea on February18.

The woman approached a metropolitan magistrate'scourt here in 2013, alleging that she had been raped by Sorenin a hotel in Mumbai.

The same year, she filed a withdrawal applicationbefore the court in Bandra, stating that she wished towithdraw the allegations and her complaint.

The court at that time allowed it to be withdrawn.

In August last year, she approached the Bombay HighCourt, stating that she had met with an accident and Sorenmight be behind the accident.

The woman had sought that an FIR be registered againstSoren again.

Last month, she filed a plea in the HC, stating thatshe had decided to change her lawyers.

On Monday, the new lawyers appearing for the womanagain submitted that she wished to withdraw the petition filedbefore the high court for seeking registration of the FIR.

The bench, however, said it was ''not inclined at thisstage to accede to the prayer made'' by the woman.

The state's counsel, Deepak Thakare, sought time tofile a closure report in the case.

Meanwhile, two intervention applications were filed inthe HC last week seeking to intervene in the case.

One of the applications was filed by a Jharkhand-basedformer journalist Sunil Kumar Tiwari, and the other by oneStree Roshni Trust.

The trust has approached the HC through senior lawyerSatish Maneshinde.

Both the applicants have sought that the woman not beallowed to withdraw the case.

The HC will hear the intervention applications andthe woman's plea on February 18.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)