In a major relief to union minister of state for railways Rajen Gohain, the Gauhati High Court on Monday set aside an order by a trial court against the minister and quashed the trial pending against him in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Nagaon.
Gohain, who is a contender for the BJP ticket to contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls from Nowgong constituency, had earlier stated that he would not contest the polls until his name is cleared by the court in the rape allegation levelled against him.
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Although the officials of the saffron party said that the party has almost finalized the name of Nowgong Sadar MLA Rupak Sarmah to contest the polls in place of Gohain, the court order on Monday might pave way for the union minister to lobby hard for the ticket to contest the polls.
The BJP is yet to name the candidate for the Nowgong Lok Sabha seat.
A woman on August last year had lodged an FIR against Gohain alleging him of raping her and her sister and mentioned that although initially they protested the relationship yet they had remained silent about it due to the promise of job to them.
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The complainant later also submitted a letter to the police saying that she had filed the complaint against Gohain due to some misunderstanding and that she wants to withdraw the complaint against the minister.
Justice Suman Shyam issued the orders on Monday saying that the orders issued dated November 16 and November 17 held to be unsustainable in law and are accordingly set aside.
“Consequently, the proceeding registered and pending in the court of chief judicial magistrate Nagaon also stands quashed,” the order stated