india

Updated: Aug 30, 2019 20:54 IST

A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court on Friday ordered Delhi Police Commissioner to send a team to Uttar Pradesh to escort the parents of the 23-year-old law student to the national capital. The young woman - who had put out a video message accusing BJP leader Swami Chinmayanand of “destroying the lives of several girls” - has told the judges that she did not want to immediately go back to Uttar Pradesh and preferred to stay in Delhi till her parents came.

She also told the judges that she had left Shahjahanpur with three family friends to protect herself.

Justices R Banumathi and AS Bopanna had stayed back in the court well after working hours to wait for the young woman who was traced by the Uttar Pradesh police to Rajasthan. The police were taking the 23-year-old back to Shahjahanpur when the court ordered the UP police to bring her first to Delhi as the judges wanted to meet her. That trip took longer than expected.

That trip took longer than expected but the two judges waited for the young woman. The interaction finally took place at 6.35 pm in Justice Banumathi chambers. When the court assembled later at 7.30 p.m., the judges took note of the concerns expressed by the young woman.

“She stated she wants to stay in Delhi till she meets her parents in Delhi. After meeting her parents and talking to them, she will take a decision on the future course of action…. Considering the facts and circumstances of the case and statement of Ms A, we direct the Commissioner of Police, Delhi, to send a team to Shahjahanpur to ensure her parents comfortably travel to Delhi to meet Ms A,” Justice Banumathi said towards the end of the unusually late court hearing.

For now, the judges made it clear that they were not expressing a view on the case but only ensuring the woman’s security.

The bench will again hear the matter on Monday afternoon.

The Uttar Pradesh police, which hadn’t questioned the BJP leader named by the woman’s family, had insisted that there was a link between the disappearance of the postgraduate law student and an alleged attempt to extort Rs 5 crore from Swami Chinmayanand. A senior UP police had also underscored that the woman, who appeared to have left Shahjanpur on her own, was found with a male friend.