A Lucknow court sentenced advocate Parmanand Gupta to life imprisonment for using a Dalit woman to file fake rape cases under the SC/ST Act. The court said such acts damage the purity of the judiciary and must be stopped strictly.
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UTTAR PRADESH: In a major judgment from Lucknow, a local court on Tuesday sentenced lawyer Parmanand Gupta to life imprisonment for misusing the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act by filing fake rape cases.
Special Judge (SC/ST Act) Vivekanand Sharan Tripathi found that Gupta had manipulated a Dalit woman and forced her to file nearly a dozen false FIRs and many court cases against people with whom he had either personal enmity or from whom he wanted to extort money.
The court held Gupta guilty and awarded him life imprisonment under Section 3(2)5 of the SC/ST Act.
Along with this, he was also given one year’s imprisonment under Section 217 and ten years’ imprisonment under Section 248 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The court also imposed a fine of Rs 5.1 lakh.
The Judge clearly mentioned in the order:
“All sentences will run separately. First sentence under section 217/49, then sentence under section 248/49 BNS and then sentence under section 3 (2)5 SC/ST Act will have to be served. The period already spent in jail will be included in this sentence.”
The entire conspiracy came to light when the Allahabad High Court was hearing a petition asking for cancellation of an FIR registered by a woman named Pooja Rawat, who had accused two persons of rape.
On March 5, the High Court noted that several similar FIRs had been filed earlier as well by Rawat and her lawyer Gupta. Because of this suspicion, the High Court ordered a CBI investigation.
The CBI later revealed shocking details. It found that 11 FIRs had been filed by Rawat and 18 different cases were filed by Gupta in various courts.
During investigation, Rawat turned into an approver (witness for the prosecution). She confessed that she used to work in a beauty salon run by Gupta’s wife. She also admitted that Gupta, knowing she belonged to the Scheduled Caste community, used her to file false cases of rape and atrocities against his personal rivals and those from whom he wanted money.
The court, while delivering its final order, made a very strong observation. It said that allowing advocates like Gupta to continue in the legal profession would shake the trust of the common people in the judiciary. The court emphasized that such convicted lawyers should not even be allowed to enter the court premises.
The judgment recorded the following strong words:
“So that the purity of judiciary is maintained.”
The court further directed:
“To this effect a copy of the information and decision should be sent along with a letter to the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh, Allahabad.”
At the same time, Judge Tripathi decided to acquit Pooja Rawat because she cooperated during investigation.
However, he gave her a stern warning that:
if she misuses the SC/ST Act in future, strict action would be taken against her.
CASE TITLE:
State v Parmanand Gupta & Anr
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