PRAYAGRAJ: The Allahabad high court on Thursday refused to entertain a PIL seeking a judicial inquiry into the alleged gang rape of a 19-year-old Dalit woman in Hathras, saying it did not want to multiply the litigation as another one in this regard was pending before the its Lucknow bench.
A division bench, comprising Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Piyush Agrawal, was hearing the PIL filed by one Babita Upadhyay. The petitioner had sought directions to the UP government and authorities not to restrain the media or the public to meet with family members of the victim.
The court while declining to interfere in the present proceedings, said that a division bench at Lucknow had taken suo motu cognisance of the midnight cremation of the victim’s body. “We are not inclined to multiply the litigation in relation to the issue which is already under consideration,” it observed.
The petitioner had also sought directions to the state gover nment to for mulate guidelines and provide adequate and uniform compensation to all victims of gang rape and murder without any discrimination.