2 hrs ago
Jharkhand High Court Rejects Relief, Orders Ashram Probe
The Jharkhand High Court considered whether a convicted man should leave prison while his appeal is pending.
He received a 30-year sentence for gang-raping a woman at an ashram.
The judges decided that spending about six years in custody was not enough to suspend the sentence.
They said the woman’s account stayed consistent during questioning in court.
They also considered forensic evidence that connected the convict to semen found on her clothes.
The court was worried about the safety of women visiting the secluded ashram.
It ordered local officials to investigate the ashram’s money, activities and other incidents.
The court said its comments about the ashram would not decide the appeal itself.
The Jharkhand High Court refused to suspend a convict’s 30-year sentence for gang-raping a woman at an ashram.
The court said six years already spent in custody did not justify releasing him pending appeal.
It cited the woman’s consistent testimony and forensic evidence linking the convict’s semen sample to semen found on her clothes.
The court noted five criminal antecedents attributed to the convict, including allegations involving murder, dacoity, robbery and the Arms Act.
The deputy commissioner and superintendent of police were ordered to investigate the ashram’s funding, activities and other incidents.
- Who
- The Jharkhand High Court, the convicted man, the survivor, and officials from the district administration and police.
- What
- The court rejected an application to suspend a 30-year sentence and ordered an inquiry into the ashram.
- Where
- At the Jharkhand High Court, concerning an ashram in Jharkhand.
- When
- The application was heard on September 3; the inquiry report is due for consideration on September 24.
- Why
- The court cited the seriousness of the crime, supporting testimony and forensic evidence, the convict’s criminal antecedents, and concerns about women’s safety at the ashram.
Defence Arguments
State and Court’s Position
Suspension of sentence
Defence Arguments
The convict’s counsel argued that he had spent more than six years in custody and urged the court to suspend the 30-year sentence while his appeal was pending.
State and Court’s Position
The state opposed the request, and the court held that time already spent in custody could not alone justify suspension given the crime’s seriousness and the convict’s role.
Reliability of evidence
Defence Arguments
The defence questioned the reliability of the survivor’s testimony and argued that the conviction could not properly rest on it.
State and Court’s Position
The court said her testimony remained unshaken during lengthy cross-examination and that forensic findings supported her account.
Ashram responsibility and safety
Defence Arguments
The defence position on the ashram inquiry was not set out in the report.
State and Court’s Position
The court expressed concern about women’s safety at the secluded ashram and ordered an inquiry into its funding, activities and other incidents, while clarifying that it had not established a conspiracy and that the inquiry would not determine the pending appeal on its merits.
Key facts
- Sentence
- 30 years’ rigorous imprisonment and a Rs 1 lakh fine for gang rape.
- Additional conviction
- Five years’ rigorous imprisonment and a Rs 50,000 fine for house trespass.
- Custody cited by defence
- More than six years already spent in custody.
- Forensic evidence
- The court recorded that semen on the survivor’s clothes matched the convict’s sample and that the sample came from more than one person.
- Criminal antecedents
- The court noted five antecedents, including cases involving alleged murder, dacoity, robbery and the Arms Act.
- Inquiry deadline
- The deputy commissioner and superintendent of police were directed to submit a report within two weeks.
- Next listing
- The matter was listed for September 24 for consideration of the inquiry report.
Quotes
Jharkhand High Court
The two-judge bench hearing the convict’s sentence-suspension application
“The concern of the Court is that if the women who are coming for meditation in the Ashram are not safe, rather, it appears that they are subjected to conspiracy resulting into such heinous crime.”
indianexpress.com
“Merely on the ground of custody having been undergone by the present appellant of about six years against the sentence of 30 years cannot be a ground for suspending the sentence.”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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