The Supreme Court declined to approve bail for the wife of Premoday Khakha, a suspended Delhi government officer accused of repeatedly raping a minor girl and causing her pregnancy.

A bench comprising Justices C. T. Ravikumar and S. V. N. Bhatti rejected the appeal filed by Seema Rani, the wife of the official, affirming the decision of the Delhi High Court, which had previously dismissed her petition.

Khakha stands accused of repeatedly raping a minor girl from November 2020 to January 2021. He was arrested in August and is presently in judicial custody awaiting trial.

According to the police, the minor victim was the daughter of an acquaintance of the accused. Rani, who is also implicated in the case, allegedly provided the girl with medication to terminate her pregnancy. She is currently held in judicial custody. The couple was apprehended subsequent to the survivor's statement, which she recorded before a magistrate at a hospital.

The case was filed under the provisions of the POCSO Act and Indian Penal Code sections 376(2)(f) (which pertains to rape committed by a relative, guardian, teacher, or someone in a position of trust or authority towards the victim) and 509 (concerning actions intended to outrage the modesty of a woman).

Police have also invoked IPC sections 506 (criminal intimidation), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 313 (causing miscarriage without the woman's consent), and 120B (criminal conspiracy) in the case, according to reports.