Delhi High Court protects former Andaman and Nicobar Chief Secretary Jitendra Narain from arrest in rape case

The Delhi High Court on Thursday granted interim protection from arrest to senior IAS officer and former Andaman and Nicobar Chief Secretary Jitendra Narain in a rape case filed against him [Jitendra Narain v State (NCT of Delhi) & Anr]..Justice Yogesh Khanna protected Narain from arrest till October 28, by which time he will be able to avail his legal remedies at the Port Blair courts.“Considering the submissions and without giving any opinion on merits, I deem it appropriate to allow the petition to avail his legal remedy to approach the Court at Port Blair till 28.10.2022 and is protected only till that date. This order of protection from arrest shall automatically be vacated on 29.10.2022,” the Court said..A woman has accused Narain of rape, after which the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) placed him under suspension.“The Ministry received a report on 16.10.2022 from Andaman & Nicobar Police regarding the alleged sexual assault of a lady by Sh. Jitendra Narain, IAS (AGMUT:1990), the then Chief Secretary, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and others. As the Report indicated the possibility of grave misconduct and misuse of official position on the part of Sh. Jitendra Narain, IAS (AGMUT:1990), the Union Home Minister directed to take immediate strict action against the officer concerned as per law,” the Ministry had said.Disciplinary proceedings have also been initiated against him..Narain’s counsel told the High Court that the first information report (FIR) against his client was registered on the basis of a complaint by the daughter-in-law of a person who was removed from service after Narain passed an order imposing a minor penalty on him.It was also stated that on the dates of the alleged incident, he was not in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, but in Delhi, and therefore, it shows that the complaint is motivated..However, the State protested grant of transit bail, stating that the allegations of sexual assault are grave as he has been accused of having sexual intercourse with the prosecutrix on two occasions without her consent and these statements alone are enough to convict him. .Senior Advocate Vikas Pahwa along with Advocates Gaurav Gupta, Samyak Gangwal, Namisha Jain and Arun Kanwar appeared for Narain. State of NCT of Delhi was represented through Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Rajat Nair. Advocate Dhruv Pande appeared for Andaman and Nicobar Police..[Read Order]