Accused 'miserably failed' to prove alibis: Court

The fast-track court Tuesday, on convicting the four accused in the Dec 16 gang-rape case, said they had "miserably failed" to prove their alibis against the "positive evidence" of the prosecution.

An alibi is a claim or piece of evidence that one was elsewhere when an act, typically a criminal one, is alleged to have taken place.

Some of the accused had claimed they were not present on the bus on which the 23-year-old paramedic student was gangraped Dec 16, 2012.

Accused Vinay Sharma and Pawan Gupta had said they were attending a music function organised by a church at a South Delhi park. Their family and neighbours had corroborated the alibi in court.

However, the prosecution submitted letters from the Delhi Development Authority and a neighbourhood church which mentioned that no such function had been held that night.

The court, refusing to accept their contention, said: "Considering the inconsistent and contradictory nature of the evidence of alibi led by the accused against the positive evidence of the prosecution, including the scientific one, I hold that accused have miserably failed to discharge their burden of absolute certainty qua their plea of alibi."

After the pronouncement of the judgement, the lawyers of the accused said it was a "politically motivated" judgement.

Advocate A.P. Singh, who appeared for Vinay and Akshay Thakur said: "It is a politically motivated judgement. We will appeal in the high court."

Mukesh's counsel, V.K. Anand, said: "This case does not come in the rarest of rare case. My client was just driving the bus. He has no role and was under pressure of his elder brother (Ram Singh)."