‘Wife swapping’ case: SC stays trial before HC

While issuing notices on her petition,the court accepted an argument by advocate Kamini Jaiswal that an interim order of staying the proceedings before the High Court was imminent since the final judgment on the petitions could be passed any moment now. Jaiswal told the Bench that the petition before the apex court will be rendered infructuous if interim order was not issued.

Earlier,arguing on the merits of the transfer petitions,Jaiswal claimed that the investigation was deliberately lax in the matter and despite repeated contentions by the victim,police had not registered the case under the rape charge of the IPC.

The petition demanded a CBI probe into the matter,alleging that the investigation was currently proceeding in accordance with the mandates of the accused in the case and police had failed to make any arrest,for they consciously had recorded her complaint under mild penal charges.

The petition has made the Commissioner of Kochi Police,Director General of Police and the assistant commissioner and circle inspector investigating the case as parties to the matter.

The High Court had in June censured the police for “protecting” higher officials in the Navy in the case while dismissing the anticipatory bail application filed by Lt Ravi Kiran,husband of the woman. It had observed that the police had adopted a “casual approach” in a “serious matter” and did not care to even examine registration of a crime involving offence of gangrape.

The case related to an allegation by a naval officer’s wife that ‘wife-swapping’ and gangrape by colleagues and senior officers took place at Southern Naval Command in Kochi. The police had later registered a case against 10 people,including her husband,under charges of torture and molestation. The charges of torture related to dowry issues were against her husband and his close relatives.