By Shashwat
New Delhi [India], January 19 : The Supreme Court has asked the Delhi High Court to decide (and dispose of) within four months time, Bhanvi Singh's plea against the High Court's interim decision to stay summons order issued against her husband and Uttar Pradesh (UP) MLA Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya in a case registered under the Domestic Violence Act.
A bench led by Justice BV Nagarathna refused to entertain Bhanvi Singh's plea by flagging a delay, noting that the matter is pending before the High Court.
"Expeditious disposal of this case is before the HC. On that day, the petitioner is at liberty to press for early disposal of this case. It is needless to observe that the same shall be considered having regard to the facts of the case as alleged by the petitioner's wife. When the matter is pending, how can we interfere? It's a matter of 2024; we can't even say within a particular time frame. We can say within 4 months from today. We say this for a reason because the High Court has stayed the interim order by the petitioner hearing under the Domestic Violence (DV) Act", Justice Nagarathna said.
The counsel appearing for Bhanvi Singh had sought quashing of the Delhi High Court's decision granting an interim stay on the summons issued against Raja Bhaiya in the DV Act complaint against him.
The apex court, however, questioned the long delay in filing the plea by Bhanvi Singh. In response, the lawyer submitted that the matter had been adjourned in the High Court several times.
"My (clients') husband is an influential person. He is a Minister, and he's a King", Bhanvi's lawyer added.
However, the Court noted that when the facts are being disputed, and the matter is already pending before the High Court, then it should be dealt with by the HC itself. Thus, it disposed of the plea and asked the HC to decide the matter within four months.