The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the Delhi High Court order directing registration of FIR against BJP leader Syed Shahnawaz Hussain in an alleged 2018 rape case.

A bench headed by Justice U.U. Lalit said Hussain prima facie makes out a case against high court order. “In further consideration there shall be a stay on further proceedings in connection with the criminal complaint dated 2018 before Saket courts, New Delhi…stay of further proceedings and also the effect and operation of the high court order under challenge,” said the top court.

The bench noted that it has been stated that after the high court order the original complainant was assaulted and allowed the complainant to approach the nearest police station if she seeks protection. The top court issued notice returnable in the third week of September.

Senior advocates Siddharth Luthra and Mukul Rohatgi appeared for Hussain in the apex court.

In his plea in the apex court, Hussain contended that the high court failed to appreciate that he was illegally implicated in the case, as the woman, who was having a matrimonial dispute with his brother, had an ulterior motive. “The petitioner is a Z plus security protectee and the allegations by the complainant were found to be totally baseless and untrue as she kept changing her statements and the location of the petitioner and that of her never matched as per CDRs and CCTV footages,” said the plea.

Hussain claimed that he filed a complaint with Delhi Police in 2017, stating that he was residing separately from his brother Shahbaz Khan, who was resident of Noida and a woman through her Facebook account was continuously defaming him.

Last week, a single bench of Justice Asha Menon directed registration of an FIR, completion of the investigation within three months, and filing of a detailed report under Section 173 Code of Criminal Procedure.

The high court said: “In the present case, there seems to be a complete reluctance on the part of the police to even register an FIR. In the absence of the FIR, at best, the police could have, as correctly observed by the learned Special Judge, conducted only what is a preliminary inquiry.”

In June 2018, a Delhi-based woman filed a complaint against Hussain, alleging commission of offences under Sections 376 (Rape), 120-B (Criminal Conspiracy) and 506 (Criminal Intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The woman alleged that the BJP leader raped her and also threatened to kill her. She filed an application seeking directions to the Delhi Police for the registration of FIR.